One of the greatest challenges for English language arts teachers today is the call to engage students in more complex texts. Tim Gillespie, who has taught in public schools for almost four decades, has found the lenses of literary criticism a powerful tool for helping students tackle challenging literary texts. Tim breaks down the dense language…

During the course of an interview, Terry Eagleton, one of England's foremost Marxist critics, talks about his political and critical position and about related contemporary developments. (HOD)

Explores in personal terms the perplexing connections among psychoanalytic theory, literary criticism, and social history. Tentatively concludes that psychoanalytic concepts need to go beyond theories of repression to models that equally emphasize social responsiveness and self-construction. (JL)

Examines the meaning of the word "history" as used in the common phrase "literary history" by critics and scholars. Asserts the differences between historical scholarship and literary history. Argues that the grounding activity of literary history is insulated from the relativism insisted upon by poststructuralist theorizing.…

Argues that when a body of theory ceases to be in crisis and no longer has to struggle to define its enterprise, it is no longer theory. Discusses the status of theory in the field of English. (SRT)

Teachers of poetry should introduce students to a variety of critical theories and points of view, and help them to apply critical ideas to texts. (KS)

This paper explores potential benefits for the novel critic of exploiting analogies between the novel and the closed system for more rigorous description and interpretation of novels; and further development of the body of theory of novelistic criticism, particularly where there are differences in critics' interpretations of the same work. A…

Defines the concept of "audience" as a theoretical concept for writing instructors and readers. Discusses its relationship to the teaching of English. (HB)

Examines the primary and not exclusively Aristotelian sources from which a more adequate concept of the enthymeme can be derived. Considers the relevance of that concept to the analysis of modern discourse. Analyzes works by Martin Luther King, Jr., and Roland Barthes as examples of enthymeming. (HB)

Proposes, in prose and in charts, a theory of writing intended to unite the fields of composition studies and literature. (JL)

Proposes that a unified theory of writing be sought as a basis for teaching composition, and that such a theory come from theories of mind and learning already developed. (RL)

Traces the history of Western theories of metaphor and discusses misperceptions that have arisen concerning the nature and function of metaphors that restrict their educational use. Shows that their extensive use in conventional speech can be used by educators to help students enrich and extend their thought and language. (DSK)

In the essays contained in this volume, philosophers, psychologists, linguists, and educators raise questions about the viability of the traditional distinction between the literal and the metaphorical. The essays reflect important parallel developments in the fields represented but also illustrate a convergence of approaches to a common problem…

Developmental theories, especially the moral development theory of Lawrence Kohlberg, can enhance the teaching of adolescent literature. Expanding on J. Piaget's model of moral development, Kohlberg's model consists of three levels--preconventional, conventional, and postconventional--subdivided into six stages: (1) punishment and obedience, (2)…

Reconstructionism is an extension and elaboration of the progressivist philosophy of education developed by John Dewey and his intellectual associates. Thomas Brameld also views reconstructionism as the beginning of a new philosphy of education, and this dissertation develops an approach to teaching literature that functions with Brameld's views.…