Everyone experiences disadvantages in life. Some disadvantages are the result of forces largely beyond the control of any one individual, including genetic, political, social, and historical disadvantages which no amount of trying is apt to overcome. Some disadvantages are self-inflicted, including being deliberately narrow in viewpoint; avoiding…

In this paper, it is argued that fragmentation inevitably occurs in a discipline whenever that discipline loses its distinctive center, and that the proper center for any program of literary study is an abiding concern with demonstrating and teaching the function of the symbolic imagination. The author suggests that any department of literature…

This paper discusses the history and effect of popular culture generally and of the adolescent formula novel specifically. Seven primary characteristics of art as popular culture are that the work is accessible, easy to understand, conventional in form, not shocking in content, expressive of common and appropriate values, relative to some element…

With the purpose of establishing a special English program at the University of Florida which would serve both teachers at the two-year community colleges and students preparing to teach at them, a five-man committee visited most of the state's 30 two-year colleges to discuss their needs and goals with faculty and administrators. Summer institutes…

Examines various views--from conservative to anarchic--of the literary canon. Notes that although these perspectives have shifted in popularity, the curriculum for a college English major has remained essentially constant. (MM)

This paper reports on an aspect of a larger curriculum historical inquiry into the links between adolescence, schooling, and the English/literacy subjects in South Australian government schools. Another interest in the paper is how the "problem" of the care and control of the adolescent could be linked to issues of (il)literacy. The…

Although Caribbean (English) writers hold differing views on the effectiveness of making connections in an area of so much diversity, Caribbean literature can be connected to the English curriculum to promote diversity and understanding. V. S. Naipaul, Nobel Prize winning author from the region, presents a pessimistic view of Caribbean society in…

The prototype of the modern youth novel emerged in the second half of the 19th century, and books written specifically for either male or female youths often covered similar storylines and themes, usually educational in purpose. Changes in the readership emerged rather slowly, but a dramatic shift in ideas about children's literature was inspired…

As the secondary school English elective curriculum developed in the 1960s and 1970s, it adhered to four major philosophical beliefs: the importance of student and teacher interest, the necessity for change and variety, the rejection of the core curriculum, and a dedication to relevance. These tenets determined the following characteristics…

In a period of great change in higher education, proponents of the traditional Freshman English program must be sensitive to the symptoms which can easily lead to its demise. These consist of (1) permitting programs to be out of phase with the general policies of campus higher administration; (2) assuming that expertise and long experience can…

Discusses some problems associated with defining "world" literature. Examines information collected from applicants to a National Endowment for the Humanities Institute in the Theory and Teaching of World Literature, concerning teaching situations and opinions on world literature courses. (MM)

In a response to the Minnesota Conference on the Future of Doctoral Study in English, argues that English departments can define future study in English by focusing on the trivium: grammar, rhetoric, and logic. Claims that, taken together, the three disciplines are potentially concerned with all issues involved in how we use words to make, do, and…

Any attempt that the teacher makes to create a lesson where the student can engage the text runs directly counter to the whole drift of the secondary school curriculum as it exists today. (HOD)

Summarizes the discussions and findings of a working party within the Australian Commission on Language Development, which focused on ways of promoting children's language development. (HOD)

The majority of college English departments in America identify and categorize their writing courses by genre. Because of this, writing instruction as a field represents teaching interests and results in written products that are diverse enough to suggest that departments should hire writing specialists who have equally diverse credentials in the…