Advocates a model for the teaching of writing in which the response of the reader is of central importance, and contrasts this model with models focusing on the centrality of the writer or the written product. (DD)

Discusses developments in program evaluation, suggests ways these may be used to develop the English curriculum, and suggests ways to improve evaluation. (DD)

Analyzes the writings of I. A. Richards and F. R. Leavis of the Cambridge School to show that underlying both critics' philosophies regarding English studies are unexplored questions. (DD)

The passion for a return to the basics is a form of nostalgia for a nonexistent past. (DD)

Provides a history of disciplinary discourse in English studies. Reveals that this new kind of writing--self-conscious, reflective prose--is creating a new "life form" in academic culture. Suggests that in order to recognize this culture, educators need to conduct research into the language academics use to define, describe, and change…

Analyzes Grendel ("Beowulf"), the Green Knight ("Sir Gawain and the Green Knight"), and the Pardoner ("The Canterbury Tales"). Notes that they are all "queer" characters in that they are not typical men of the time and they all pose a challenge or threat to normative homosocial desire. Suggests that…

Provides discussion and critical analysis of collaborative practices in learning, teaching, and research. Considers critiques of collaborative practices. Describes a "pedagogy of disclosure" that is needed to fulfill collaborative work experiences. Sketches four collaborative scenes that succeeded in evincing such disclosure among learners. (HB)

Explains the biblical reference in the title of Toni Morrison's novel, "Song of Solomon," as pointing to the book's form and political implications. Connects the title with the traditional pastoral mode and analyzes the novel as pastoral. (HB)

Outlines and discusses historical and contemporary theory concerned with the definition and consideration of simile. Provides an overview of the views of the most prominent critics and theorists with regard to simile. Compares how the literal and the figurative types of simile diverge. (HB)

States that fiction revels in specificity and historicizes problems of socialization, including literacy. Argues that the short story tells a narrative of arrested socialization that ends with characters who find their own speech inadequate and the new speech problematic. Asserts that short stories can provide forums for studies of literacy. (PRA)

Questions the persistence of the concept of organizing scholarship and instruction along national or chronological lines. Proposes a radically new system by which English studies might be organized. Suggests developing "contact zones" which bring diverse texts into dialog with one another. (HB)

Advocates a position on the margins of English studies. Provides a general introduction to analytic philosophy of language. Elaborates Donald Davidson's work on interpretation, which demonstrates why truth and rationality are inextricably linked to language and communication. Calls for reconfiguring the debate between and assessment of the…

Students responded well to the opportunity to create their own final examinations. (JH)