Proposes a study of "Citizen Kane" in high school using a somewhat simplified version of post-modern literary critical theory. Chooses this film because of its familiarity and accessibility and because the ambiguity and indeterminacy of its text allow room for exploration by students. (NKA)

This course outline for the study of novels by representative writers of the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries emphasizes the various novelistic forms. Study objectives include: (1) explanation of how psychological elements motivate characteristics; (2) explanation of how sociological factors influence characters and situations; (3)…

The author critically examines the most significant interpretations and reinterpretations of ancient Greek history of interest to secondary teachers. Discussed are the history of Mycenaeans, Athenians, and Persians, military history, Alexander, and the role of the centuries 800 B.C.-500 B.C. in preparing for classical times. (Author/RM)

Makes a case for asking students to produce their own film version of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Explains how to manage student filming projects logistically; how to teach students about filming techniques through the study of modern movies; and how filming becomes a lesson in the interpretation of Shakespeare. (TB)

This dissertation is concerned with the role that close reading (textual analysis of a literary work) plays in the methods, teaching materials, and training of prospective secondary school English teachers. Despite the impact of the movement of close reading in higher education and educators' recent call for its practice in the high school, there…

Able 11th- and 12th-grade students can enjoy the imagery, direct language, and indirect thought of T. S. Eliot. Eliot's treatment of the apathetic society and the isolated individual, his concern for spirituality over sensuality, and his plea for collective responsibility for evil are themes that can be traced in his major works through…

Over the last quarter century, the American high school, like the larger educational industry in which it is embedded, has been subjected to a good deal of critical analysis. Using a longer lens provided by historical research on the development and growth of the American high school as well as an especially robust theory of organizational change…

Describes "doing" literary criticism with secondary students, illustrated with S. E. Hinton's novel "The Outsiders." Discusses evaluating a book in terms of how well it represents the reader's life experience, the author's desired response, and as an expression of the author. Discusses evaluating other criticisms of the book.…

The primary purpose of this article is to clarify the place of myth in literature and the English curriculum. Conceived of as symbolic form, myth underpins all human expression, as a way of organizing human response to reality. It holds a central place in literature and can make clear the intimate connections between history and literature because…

Much of the clamor about instructional relevance today results from student dissatisfaction with (1) the narrow and anachronistic definition of literature commonly given by teachers, (2) the artificial compartmentalizing of literary works, and (3) the assumption that literature can only be apprehended through analysis. Rather than concentrating…

Discusses psychoanalytic theory as a valid technique for teaching and interpreting literature. (RB)

Suggests that poetry can be made meaningful and timely for students who read it in terms of such universal themes as the Seven Deadly Sins, the Four Cardinal Virtues, and the Theological Virtues. (RB)

Employing Oedipus Rex'' and The Birthday Party'' as examples, the author demonstrates that literary criticism should give careful attention to parallels in format and content in the study of classical and modern drama. (RB)

Explains how the movie "The Lion King" may be used to elucidate Shakespeare's "Hamlet," a play about a prince who does not always seem heroic to modern audiences. Gives specific points of comparison between the two works concerning heroes, characters, conflicts, themes, ending scenes, and archetypal patterns. (TB)