Three things will help to change American theater's unsatisfactory climate for Blacks and its growing mediocrity: (1) an end to the cultural dependence on British theater; (2) an examination of America's racial history in "White" as well as "Black" productions; and (3) abandonment of the notion that Blacks and Whites can flourish in isolation from…

On June 6, 1933 the U.S. Employment Service was established with the passage of the Wagner-Peyser Act. Earlier attempts to establish a labor exchange had been controversial and short-lived, but the legislation was virtually unopposed because of Depression-era problems. (JOW)

Composer Jack Beeson discusses the distinctively American themes and music of his operas and comments on opera composition in general, matters of style, and the televising of opera. This article is part of a theme issue on opera. (SJL)

Explains a scavenger hunt to collect items (newspaper clippings, pictures, records, etc.) that represent the influence of the United States on Canadian Culture. The teacher prepares scavenger hunt stations which include items that students have collected. An assessment on items follows the hunt. (KC)

Studies the significance of the conservative victory in the 1980 election. Also evaluates the increasing support of conservative policies such as the dismantling of civil rights, women's rights, and environmental gains. Concludes that an important element in this drift to the right is the resurgence of laissez-faire liberalism. (DB)

Provides definitions for 24 new words or phrases in American English. Journal availability: see FL 512 361. (AM)

Asserts that despite frequent attempts to barr it from the curriculum, "Huckleberry Finn," a testament to the possibility of interracial respect and friendship, is the most-taught piece of American literature in U.S. high schools. In this reprint of a 1948 introduction to the book, Lionel Trilling points to the novel's power of telling…

Posits that the birth of the road film is linked to interrelated postwar phenomena: the advent of the automobile as an expression of individuality, and the emergence of a large strata of restless youth. Discusses road films from 1950 to the 1990s. Finds that the gradual depoliticization of road film rebellion must itself be understood finally as…

Presents definitions and examples of usage of late-twentieth century American words and terms, including: bite, dramedy, photo op, photo opportunist, safe computer practice, sound bite, teflon, trapdoor, vaccination program, computer virus, and wait state. (CB)

Explores the interactional significance of grammar on turn-taking in Japanese in view of reported conversation analytic findings on turn-taking for Anglo-American English. Particular focus is on ways in which grammar may be implicated in the conversation of turns at speaking and the projection of turn endings in Japanese talk-in-interaction.…

Discusses the Third Dialect (Labov 1991, 1994), offering the first systematic variationist analysis of speech in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with particular focus on three phonological processes. Argues that Veatch's (1991) model of English syllable structure provides a unified account of these seemingly unrelated phonological changes in Pittsburgh.…

Forty adult Chinese-speaking learners of English and 20 native speakers of American English participated in a study of second language learners' interpretation of syntactically ambiguous sentences involving "that"-clauses that could potentially be interpreted as complements or as relative clause. Two sentence interpretation tasks suggest that the…

This fact sheet highlights the statistics of the status of the Asian Pacific Islander American high school students living in the continental United States in terms of: population; graduation, dropouts, and preparedness; schools, segregation, and teacher quality; special education and learning disabilities; and English language learners. Because…

Two studies were conducted to investigate the construct validity of a measure of teachers' achievement goals. The first study involved 143 teachers. Factor analysis of responses to the measure revealed three factors assessing mastery, performance approach, and performance avoidance goals. In the second study, a nationally representative sample of…

While students generally recognize that racism exists on an individual level, the instructor's challenge is to both elucidate patterns of discrimination and to expose their corollary: unearned and unrecognized systemic privilege of the dominant group. Unaware that their sense of entitlement advantages them at the expense of people of color, some…