Louise Rosenblatt's transactional theory of reader response has been widely accepted as a means of resisting the hegemony of New Criticism. This article argues that Rosenblatt and the New Critics were pioneers of parallel, rather than opposing, pedagogical traditions, shaped by the shared influence of I. A. Richards and John Dewey. The article…

In addition to being one of the authors of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), David Coleman has become the Standards' "most visible advocate" (Smith, Appleman, & Wilhelm, 2014, p. 10) and one of their "most prominent and articulate promoters" (Rabinowitz & Bancroft, 2014, p. 4). In a talk titled "Bringing the…

Viewing Tolstoy's works from psychological and intellectual perspectives demonstrates his approach to children's literacy and especially the development of reasoning, which he presents in his writing for children and the stories he includes in his "New ABC" book (1875a) and four "Readers" (1875b). This article…

Mainstream cultural studies, it seems, is unwilling to take art of any kind seriously, whether popular or classic. Richard Posner is not far wrong in suggesting that the aim of cultural studies "is to knock literature off its pedestal and find vehicles easier than literary works for making political points." To respond fully to literature and art…

To point out some inadequacies in the usual ways of studying and teaching literature, to emphasize that books exist primarily to be read by individual human beings, and to explore some of the questions which arise when it is seriously acknowledged that books require individual readers and readings, the author of this volume demonstrates that…

The central activity of literary criticism, the understanding of literature, is related to the process of establishing a context for the works of literature being studied. Choosing not to discuss the factual elements of literary criticism, the author clarifies and concentrates on the "lower" and "upper" limits of criticism. While the "lower" limit…

Examines the role of "The Horn Book Magazine" in reviewing and promoting children's literature in the past 50 years. (RB)

Discusses the importance of introducing literature to children at an early age and provides a rationale for doing so. (RB)

Cautions teachers not to introduce an adult view of the world to students at too young an age. (RB)

Considers the impact of Northrop Frye's work on education. Shows how Frye explores systematically the continuity of the literary tradition and the structural principles used to discuss that tradition. (RL)

Shows how Northrop Frye's approach to teaching literature, literary analysis, and literary criticism is a combination of structure and relevance. (RL)

Presents a philosophical discussion on two approaches to teaching literature, comparing the rational, textual centered approach to the more subjective, experience oriented method. (RB)

Challenges the idea in the critical and educational thinking about literature that poetry is an experience that does not need analysis. (RB)

The stasis, stock, kinetic, spectator, and dialectic responses to literature all serve to deny the popular misconception that literary analysis invariably deals a death blow to the vitally engaged, spontaneous, and thus authentic response. Stasis is a response in which an intuited imaginative identity between subject and object develops in an…

Discusses problems resulting from the canonization of some American literary works and suggests that "fighting with canons" can be a way of perceiving and protecting differences. (EL)