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)

Proposes an approach to French literature instruction that is less rigid than the traditional "commentaire de texte." (AM)

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

Suggests that what makes Charles Johnson's "Middle Passage" significant and eminently teachable is that it is an accessible example of "historiographic metafiction"--bestselling postmodern novels set in the past. Notes that students find the novel "easy" and enjoyable and that teaching the novel with some of its intertexts, such as H. Melville's…

Offers an exercise involving popular culture to help students experience the contemporary power of Shakespeare. Explains that after reading a Shakespeare play, students develop new cereal brands based upon the work's plot, characters, or themes, afterward naming, designing, creating, and displaying the cereal package. Combines literary analysis,…

Considers how seeking "hidden meanings," attending to the language in which they are embedded, and sharing that experience with students seems to be a viable way to conceive of the essence of literary study. Describes a writing assignment (a "documented critical paper") based on Joseph Conrad's "Secret Sharer." (SG)

Argues that Fritz Lang's film "Metropolis" deserves exploration and analysis because of its outlandish plot, dazzling visual and technical elements, and its reflection of the closing days of Weimar Germany. Presents a brief study guide designed to stimulate student curiosity and facilitate further interest in the film. (RS)

Outlines a strategy of confrontational pedagogy that uses the key concepts of resistance and opposition as they function in both psychoanalytic and politicized critical theories. Suggests a way of theorizing the classroom to acknowledge conflict and to open up the classroom for a productive contestation and interrogation of existing paradigms of…

Presents nine benefits for student understanding and appreciation of literature that come from having students work at their own creative writing in undergraduate literature classes. (RS)

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)

Claims that the insights of reader response theory can be brought into the teaching of poetry in college literature courses. Outlines methods for utilizing reader response techniques to help students enjoy and understand poetry. (HB)

Describes an experience during classroom discussion of Alice Walker's "Roselily" that led a teacher to revise her understanding of multiculturalism. Defines three problematic yet popular approaches to understanding the differences in culture in the United States and then presents a fourth approach that encourages students to see themselves and…

Presents a five-step series of lessons which introduce seventh-grade language arts students to literary criticism and analysis as they progress through a text, moving from surface evaluation to thoughtful analysis. (SR)