Discusses theories on the nature of irony and applies them to Lynd Ward's Caldecott Medal winning picture book, "The Biggest Bear." Concludes with illustrations of how these theories can be used in teaching ironic stories to third grade students. (HOD)

Explains how to use the novels of Toni Morrison to teach high school students about life and literature. (JL)

To demonstrate that rhetoric can be useful and challenging, a course in rhetorical criticism was designed with a public conference as a major component. This article describes and evaluates the first annual James Madison University Rhetorical Criticism Conference, April 2-3, 1981. (PD)

Describes how social studies teachers can help students to evaluate generalizations made about ethnic and racial groups. Discussed are kinds of questions which can be used to distinguish between ethnic commentary which is perceptive, informative, and contributive to intergroup harmony and that which is shallow, spiteful, and inimical to human…

Explains the use of student analysis worksheets that focus on essential background information, literary elements, and techniques that the instructor and scholars find noteworthy. (MKM)

Using primary sources in literature classrooms--getting students to examine authors' manuscripts, notebooks, and letters--helps students to develop critical methods and analytic skills for questioning literature's minute particulars. (RL)

Suggests an extented exercise to help students interpret myths and discover sex-role stereotyping in them. (TJ)

Discusses how an undergraduate introductory comparative literature course used the study of the social function of literature to bring linguistic, structuralist, and Marxist research into the classroom. (DD)

Advocates a direct, honest approach to lesbian poetry and demonstrates how such an approach can contribute to an understanding of poetry written by lesbians as well as of American lesbians' place in society. (DD)

Two methods and examples of how novels that deal with educational issues can assist teachers in understanding educational problems. (Author/MLF)

Shows how the advertisement copy for "collectible art" can be used to develop a definition of art. Suggests that middle and high school students should look at the criteria for art offered in the advertisements. Recommends they analyze the terminology used to convince the lay person that the object is "genuine" art. (LS)

Finds the commentaries of U.S. critics on the works of Chinua Achebe and other African writers ethnocentric, misinformed, and devoid of cogent analysis. Advocates a microscopic sociocultural contextualization of the works, emphasizing the nuances, history, and specifications of the African milieu. Discusses Achebe's special place in reading lists…

An interdisciplinary course integrating political science, literature, and film is used at Bellarmine College in Kentucky as a vehicle for examining politics on the local, state, national and international levels. Four novels and their analogous films are used, corresponding to the respective political level--"The Last Hurrah,""All…

Drawing on interviews and on the actual language that readers (students, teachers, and adults) use to interpret and respond to literary texts, this book examines the conventions that shape talk about literature in large groups, small groups, and adult book clubs. By looking across contexts, the four separate but related studies in the book raise…

This paper profiles representative Afro-Brazilian writers and provides a guide to English language translations and critical studies of their work. The aim is to encourage instructors to broaden the scope of current curricula in black and Latin American studies courses. Recent studies estimate that more than 40 percent of Brazil's inhabitants are…