"Ulysses" by James Joyce (1882-1941) has a surprising amount of 19th-century, classical physics. The physics community is familiar with the name James Joyce mainly through the word "quark" (onomatopoeic for the sound of a duck or seagull), which Murray Gell-Mann (1929-2019 -- Physics Nobel Prize 1969) sourced from Joyce's…

Historically, higher learning was based on the study of the Great Works of thought of the Western canon. These works span a broad range of time, from the Classical period, to early Christianity, and the Enlightenment, all the way to the 20th century. Presently, close study of Great Works is less common at most mainstream colleges and universities.…

This essay analyzes student experiences of studying all-female and non-binary cast Shakespeare productions in the Seattle area, including upstart crow collective's "Richard III" and The Fern Shakespeare Company's "Much Ado About Nothing." I draw on my teaching of the experimental work of these regional companies in an…

As a novel that asks how we can live in a world of uncertain values and urgent identity politics, James Joyce's Ulysses could be more relevant than ever, but its textual complexity poses a steep burden to new readers. Teaching Joyce's Ulysses models a new method of teaching Joyce's novel using the theory of fictional possible worlds, which…

This article describes an empirical study of the ways in which one group of adaptors transformed the plays of William Shakespeare into the medium of the comic book for use in school classrooms. It explores the choices, dilemmas, processes and responsibilities they experienced in doing so. These adaptors had to tackle the burden of…

Looking through the eyes of Persian culture, we see that man is not all noetic; he is not driven by intellect or consistent in his use of reason. On the contrary, he is most moved by emotion. A perfect example: Persian philosophy is most commonly uttered in both poetry and prose. This is, I believe, where the brilliance of Persians rests, in the…

My article argues that the concept of "aesthetic learning" can be helpful for English teachers on two levels. First, it can be a useful identity for English teachers and students to adopt, based upon my own experiences as a secondary English teacher, creative writer and PhD student. Second, I argue that "aesthetic learning" is…

In this article, the author encourages educators and researchers to foreground the voices and experiences of youth and youth culture in discussions about power and privilege in canonical and contemporary texts. The article lists components that are critical as the discussion ensues about whether secondary teachers should or should not be allowed…

In recent years, literacy problematics and different concepts (Cooperative Learning, Learning Styles) have taken up much of the school's literature teaching. It has pushed discussions of the professional content into the background. This article takes up the content discussion for renewed debate, but now also with the aim of discussing the…

Bullying remains a wretched, pervasive problem in the society, especially for teenagers. Bullying is commonly defined as negative acts that occur repeatedly and involve an imbalance of power (Olweus 413); since this widely accepted definition excludes one-time acts of cruelty, the authors prefer to use the word "conflict" in their conversations…

One of the most important aspects of developing a close, personal relationship with literary characters is "relevancy." Readers have to find something to connect with in characters to care about them, and for that connection to take place, stories and their characters have to be relevant in the eyes of an adolescent to the point where they can…

A key working assumption of English teachers at the Essex Street Academy, a public high school on Manhattan's Lower East Side (and a partner school of New York University) is that literature can be taught most effectively when it is placed into historical context. Historical knowledge can help students who struggle with classic literature and find…

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…

This article reports the findings of a study that investigated the role of graphic novels in teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) to International Baccalaureate students (aged 15-16) in TED Ankara College Foundation Private High School. Two intact 10th grade classes were randomly assigned to the control and experimental groups who studied…

The Social Science Research Network, an online clearinghouse popular among social scientists, has created a Humanities Research Network (HRN) that is similar. To begin with, the new network will cover three areas--philosophy, classics, and English and American literature--broken down into detailed subcategories. More disciplines will be added in…