Purpose: In an era when engagement in public spaces and places is increasingly regulated and constrained, we argue for the use of literary analytic tools to enable younger generations to critically examine and reenvision everyday spatialities (Rogers, 2016; Rogers et al., 2015). The purpose of this paper is to consider how spatial analyses of…

Research on the language-literature divide in undergraduate second language programs documents the challenge of engaging literature learners in classroom discourse which is conducive to their developing interpersonal speaking skills as measured on the ACTFL Oral Proficiency Scale. In this study, Integrated Performance Assessments (IPAs) were…

Although the aims of literary study have often been spelled out in ethical terms, scholars have tended to discuss the how of literary interpretation in more ethically neutral terms. Reading pedagogical enactments of two predominant theories of literary interpretation--New Criticism and reader response--through the lens of Rancièrean ethics, I…

This article proposes a theoretical framework for understanding the possibility of Talmudic stories (as well as other narratives and scenes of interactions among two or more characters) to nurture the growth of the moral imagination as it is expressed in two related but distinct ways. At the intersection of work by educators, literary critics, and…

The high school English classroom is a complex space of literacy practices and communicative interaction. Teachers and students engage in literature study in ways that are dialogic and multifaceted. The navigation of both print and digital texts along with the constructive operations surrounding those texts including the textual operations…

In May 2007, the faculty book club that the author facilitates read Chris Bohjalian's novel "The Double Bind" (Shaye Areheart: Harmony, 2007). Bohjalian, a local author, agreed to meet them in Burlington for drinks and conversation. When he arrived, the author and her class introduced themselves, passed around some nachos, and began their…

Science educators are beginning to establish a theoretical and methodological foundation for constructing and using stories in science teaching. At the same time, it is not clear to what degree science stories that have recently been written adhere to the guidelines that are being proposed. The author has written a story about Louis Slotin, which…

The relative absence of nonfiction in literature for young readers may have serious implications because nonfiction literacy matters. Nonfiction material is the crucible within which readers can gain the knowledge and skills that enable them to reach sound decisions in all arenas of life, avoid gullibility born of ignorance, and participate in an…

Offers a set of principles for constructing questions that compel rereading and proposes a set of principles by which literature teachers can construct significant questions--ones which compel rereading and textual constraint while encouraging independent interpretation, response, and hypothesizing. Provides examples illustrating the applications…

Outlines essential elements of critical reviews and presents findings of a study which examined the format of dissertation reviews in previous issues of the BULLETIN. Presents guidelines for writing the summary and critical evaluation sections of a dissertation review. (GEA)

The author describes what future teachers should know about the quality, opinions of, developmental stages in; and the variety, use, and availability of adolescent literature in the years to come. (CRH)

These guidelines have been designed to guide English teachers in taking steps to eliminate sexism from the English classroom. Separate sections define sexism, examine ways that language works to perpetuate sexism, show how literature works to perpetuate sexism, and list frequently used terms that are sexist in nature or use, along with nonsexist…

The institutional view of literature in the National Curriculum of Great Britain shows a dramatic belittlement in its revised version. It lacks a coherent literary or pedagogical rationale and substitutes a functional one in which over-simplification purports to be clarification. The institution is primarily concerned to define English literary…

The seven articles in this focused journal issue are concerned with choosing books for teaching and the various constraints on those choices. The first article, by Richard Lederer, discusses George Orwell's "1984" and the principles of Newspeak. His article sets the tone for the next two articles: "Beware the Misuse of…

Elaborated as a response to a traditional set of secondary school poetry examinations that are called "sterile and outmoded," this report resulted from a series of seminars held in England by literature educators. The report offers extensive guidelines for modernizing the exams, examples of student critical writing about particular poems, and…