The Department of English Literature at Kingston University piloted an innovative Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) program as part of a two-year pilot project funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England's (HEFCE) Widening Participation Fund. The project aimed to enable first-year students to develop academic writing skills related to a…

This issue's humanities reflection presents a student's argument for attention to the humanities in a math, science, and technology program. Everett Brokaw, a senior at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, recognizes that his specialized school experience has been enriched by personal journeys through literature and through encounters…

Stressing the importance of Lev S. Vygostky's ideas about teaching and learning, Peter Smagorinsky challenges readers to form their own interpretations of the Russian psychologist's work. He highlights three points with implications for secondary school English teachers working to "cultivate a literate citizenry."

In this article I explore how myth and song intersect in J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy--"The Fellowship of the Ring," "The Two Towers," and "The Return of the King"--and Donald Swann's song cycle setting of Tolkien texts, "The Road Goes Ever On." In so doing I am drawn back to Tolkien's "The Hobbit," the novel from which "The…

Mary Elizabeth Braddon's novels and stories exemplify some of the main issues surrounding women's texts and their place in literature: aesthetic value, intellectual challenge, universality, and contemporary popularity. Her work, it may be argued, betrays occasional aesthetic imperfections; however, she produced a tremendous amount of published…

The authors conducted a study of the use of "Early English Books Online" (EEBO) in research and teaching at one institution. The findings highlight the strengths and weaknesses of EEBO for research and teaching and the importance of librarian-faculty collaboration in instructing students to use large, electronic full-text primary-source…

Background/Context: Over the past 5 years, there has been a growing body of scholarship that examines the intersections of hip-hop culture and classroom pedagogy. Although recent scholarship has persuasively demonstrated the classroom potential of hip-hop texts for promoting student engagement, scaffolding sanctioned forms of knowledge, and…

In this paper, an application of one aspect of the Internet technology, namely Internet groups, into the teaching of American and British literatures is evaluated by means of a content analysis of the Internet group which was used as the course component. The aim of this paper was to see how students used the Internet group in the learning of…

For the last four semesters my courses in Shakespeare have used QwikiWiki and MediaWiki, two versions of the wiki software, for writing exercises and directed reflection on language--including both by the students about Shakespeare's language, and by the teacher/researcher regarding the students' performance in "Writing to Learn". In experimenting…

Discusses how Doyle, through his Sherlock Holmes books, was influential in popularizing graphology. Holmes' unusual ability to analyze handwriting helped him solve a number of cases. Specific examples are provided. (RM)

Tells of the author's search for and discovery of the first name of Lady Macbeth: Gruach. (DD)

In this article, the author challenges English teachers of literature to examine applications of reader response theory in teaching reading which posit that readers approach a text from two stances: "aesthetic" (emotional) or "efferent" (literal). The essay presents a case study of pre-service English teachers and adolescents'…

This paper identifies some problems Chinese universities have when they offer English literature as a compulsory course to advanced level English majors. One constructive approach is discussed, and some suggestions on improving literature teaching are put forward.

In this chapter from his forthcoming book, Tom Romano reflects on the zigzag path that he has followed in making a life for himself in teaching.