This paper is a re-examination of Louise Rosenblatt's seminal work of reader-response theory, The Reader, The Text, The Poem. I argue that poems are essentially social in nature and that they open up a space in which conversation and interpretation can take place. With Rosenblatt I argue that until a reader engages with a poem, bringing to it a…

This article considers a conundrum in research methodology; the fact that, in the main, you have to use a social science-based research methodology if you want to look at what goes on in a classroom. This article proposes an alternative arts-based research method instead based on the work of Eisner, and before him Dewey, where one can use the more…

This teacher's guide gives practical suggestions for engaging intermediate level students in a study of portraits, based on the assumption that through the image both the sitter and artist reveal something about themselves and the intended purpose of the portrait. Organized in four chapters, Chapter 1, "Talking to the Wall," looks at the…