Reviews the recent work of Terry Eagleton and Raymond Williams, two proponents of Marxist literary theory. Considers the strengths and weaknesses of each writer, outlining an approach to Marxist literary criticism that blends the two theories. (JT)

Discusses New Criticism and the revolution it caused in college English teaching. (DD)

Considers how although the influence of "Oprah's Book Club" has been well documented in the popular media, it has received little attention from the academic community. Examines the club as a literacy delivery system, asking how literacy takes its shape from the interests of both Winfrey and her readers. (SG)

Studies verbal pretexts, social subtexts, and interpretive contexts of works by Langston Hughes, Richard Wright, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Notes that cultural repression is propagated (and dispelled) in part through the power of language. Notes that these texts are relevant for teaching textual power in hopes of affecting social change. (RS)

Argues that adopting a metacritical stance and examining the dialogue between text and audience will result in a better understanding of how Canada's cultural and intellectual contexts shape the interpretive act, and how this dialogue constructs the public meaning of literary works. (RAE)

Describes how current critical literary theory has changed one teacher's approach to three canonical texts, by viewing texts as production and construction, unconsciously produced and inscribed by history, ideology, and politics. Notes that recent theory has been a liberating force allowing respect for student comments formerly deemed silly and…

Aims to rehabilitate the reputation of Shakespeare's "Henry VIII" and emphasizes its potential usefulness in the classroom by reconsidering it in the context of Renaissance history writing. Shows how "Henry VIII" can be taught as a commentary on or seen as a continuation of incipient themes in "The Tempest" and…

The author examines how chronotopes--a term M. M. Bakhtin used to describe space-time relationships in literature--also characterize rhetorical arguments. She uses a case study of a series of debates about genetically modified foods (GMFs) in Canada to illustrate how chronotopes shape arguments along ideological lines. In particular, she suggests…

By revisiting the work of the Black Caucus and the radical rhetorics connected to Black Power and the black radical tradition, in this essay the author hopes to rebuild a frame where the picture of an African-American-vernacularized paradigm for critical literacy and social justice can emerge. She revisits the twinning of "Black Power/Black…

Schools can best inculate critical habits of mind by devoted, exciting teaching of the disciplines. (JH)

Reading the works of Doris Lessing can provide readers an opportunity to think about the thinking process. (DD)

Describes the diverse responses of eight faculty members and eight graduate students to the poem "Winter Piece" by William Gibson. (DD)

Students should be taught to make judgments of literary values, to discriminate between works, to discern the graces or faults in literary texts. (DD)