Language arts are at the forefront of education these days. Instructors at all levels are being encouraged to teach writing in their courses, even if those courses cover subjects other than English. Literature instructors have long used fiction to teach composition. But because the novel reflects a broad range of human experiences and historical…

A literature course developed at the College of Staten Island concerns the human experience with other animals and the environment. Recently, the course has been significantly altered in line with insights gained through participation in a faculty seminar on the topic of inclusion of the "other." The alterations in the course design…

Based on the idea that expanding the literary canon has to mean more than simply incorporating "nontraditional" texts into literature courses, this book presents essays that address such issues as text selection, course design, and the effects of multicultural literature on students of color. After an introduction by the editors, the…

Focusing on issues that define the multicultural society and intended to help students become alert readers, more purposeful and effective writers, and thinking members of the larger community, this book is built around selections by committed writers who demonstrate the power of the written word to record, interpret, and change today's social and…

A new approach to teaching "Great Books" in high schools calls for scholars to reconsider the question of whether classics are relevant in a multiculturally conscious age. This classroom approach, referred to as "participant examples," requires students and teachers to act out situations from books they are reading; it strives…