Examines Black men's negative responses and White women's positive responses to works by Black women writers. Suggests that by trying to understand how and why the works by Black women writers affect readers, readers can begin to strip away their own ethnocentrism, racism, and sexism. (MM)

Examines the classical rhetoric revival that occurred in American English departments in the 1950s and 1960s. Identifies rhetorician Richard M. Weaver as a leader of this "First Rhetorical Awakening." Argues that Weaver's work draws a connection between philosophical rhetoric and cultural criticism. Encourages further exploration of the…

Discusses the false dichotomy pitting aesthetic power against political complicity in literary criticism. Considers the sexual politics of the household of Nathaniel Hawthorne in light of this opposition. Suggests how literary works keep warring voices and inner conflicts alive and at odds. (HB)

Demonstrates several of the pitfalls inherent in traditional textbook definitions of the "formal essay" and academic discourse in the teaching of literary criticism. Suggests alternative approaches and assignments that make students aware of other ways to read and write about literature. (HB)

Discusses the acute representations of familial and historical relations as depicted in Octavia Butler's novel, "Kindred." Suggests that the novel is best understood as a novel of memory, functioning as a means of reconstructing a sense of place and home. (HB)

Argues that the use of evidentials illuminates differences between arguments written by experienced academic writers and those written by student writers. Reveals differences in the epistemological stance underlying both groups. Analyzes discursive examples by both groups. (HB)

Focuses on how textual analysis might be renovated at a level as basic as freshman writing. Considers the possibility of combining textual analysis with personal narrative and reporting. Considers how recent literary criticism utilizes personal narrative strategies. Outlines six ways authorial presence is detectable in critical works. (HB)

Examines the possibility of negotiating ethical issues productively in the postmodern classroom. Reviews Iris Marion Young's refutation of distributive ethics and Young's alternative system based on group difference. Describes recent work on classroom ethics relying on distributive language. Suggests ways of extending this work in light of Young's…

Studies the tone of essays published in the journal "PMLA" from 1975 to 1988. Notes that most are adversarial, and many are sarcastic or condescending. Suggests a sameness within the argumentation that may reflect writers' academic socialization. Concludes that some feminist writers dislike the adversary model and do not employ it. (SG)

Discusses the growing importance of electronic mail among academicians. Offers a rhetoric and a pedagogy that include electronic mail in their fields of vision. Argues that writing instructors should continue to do research into the issues inherent in electronic mail. (HB)

Argues that Emily Dickinson's gender and genre moved her away from American Transcendentalism and toward pragmatism. Suggests that Dickinson's choice of poetry forced her to formulate a self that the American Transcendental prose writers could evade, and that her gender freed her from the restraints that the Romantic movement placed on women. (TB)

Historically, homosexual literature has been ignored, destroyed, and misinterpreted by tacit agreement of all the respectable forces in our homophobic culture. (JH)

Most writers of feminist biographies do not yet know how to solve presentational and narrative problems that have been solved in other genres. (JH)

Ideas or messages transmitted by language are not the same as grammatically determined meaning. (JH)