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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 343 118 CS 213 113 AUTHOR Cahalan, James N., Ed.; Downing, David B., Ed. TITLE Practicing Theory in Introductory College Literature Courses. INSTITUTION National Council of Teachers of English, Urbana, REPORT NO ISBN-0-8141-3653-2 PUB DATE 91 NOTE 387p. AVAILABLE FROMNational Council of Teachers of English, 1111 Kenyon Rd., Urbana, IL 61801 (hardcover: Stock No. 36659-0015, ISBN-0-8141-3665-9, $26.95 member, $36.95 nonmember; softcover: Stock No. 36532-0015, ISBN-0-8141-3653-2, $17.95 member, $24.95 nonmember). PUB TYPE Guides - Classroom Use - Teaching Guides (For Teacher) (052) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC16 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Critical Reading; Feminism; Higher Education; *Introductory Courses; *Literature Appreciation; Teaching Methods; *Theory Practice Relationship; Undergraduate Students IDENTIFIERS Aesthetic Reading; *Literary Theory ABSTRACT Connecting the separate worlds of literary theorists and literature teachers in higher education, this collection of essays by 20 college teachers shares their Adeas about using theorists' concepts to turn undergraduates from passive receivers of information into active thinkers about meaning in literature. Following an introduction by James N. Cahalan and David B. Downing, essays in the collection are: "Reading from Inside and Outside of One's Community" (David Bleier.); "Combining Personal and Textual Experience: A Reader-Response Approach to Teaching American Literature" (Patricia Prandini Buckler); "From Clinic to Classroom while Uncovering the Evil Dead in 'Dracula': A Psychoanalytic Pedagogy" (Nark S. Paris); "'Text,' 'Reader,' 'Author,' and 'History' in the Introduction to Literature Course" (John Schilb); "In Search of Our Sisters' Rhetoric: Teaching through Reception Theory" (Louise Z. Smith); "The Historical Necessity for--and Difficulties with--New Historical Analysis in Introductory Literature Courses" (Brook Thomas); "The Reader and the Text: Ideologies in Dialogue" (John Clifford); "Confrontational Pedagogy and the Introductory Literature Course" (Ronald Strickland); "The Walls We Don't See: Toward Collectivist Pedagogies as Politica/ Struggle" (C. Nark Hurlbert): "Feminist Theory, Literary Canons, and the Construction of Textual Meanings" (Barbara Frey Waxman); "Coyote Midwife in the Classroom: Introducing Literature with Feminist Dialogics" (Patrick D. Murphy); "A Multicultural Introduction to Literature" (Phillipa Kafka); "'Who Was That Masked Man?': Literary Criticism and the Teaching of African American Literature in Introductory Courses" (Pencho Savery); "Less Is More: Coverage, Critical Diversity, and the Limits of Pluralism" (Douglas Lanier); "From Discourse in Life to Discourse in Poetry: Teaching Poems as Balchtinian Speech Genres" (Don Bialostosky); "Teaching Deconstruction: Theory and Practice in the Undergraduate Literature Classroom" (Lois Tyson); "Reading Deconstructively in the Two-Year College Introductory Literature Classroom" (Thomas Fink); "Practicing TeXtual Theory and Teaching Formula Fiction" (M. H. Dunlop); "Theory as Equipment for (PoetModern) Living" (Thomas McLaughlin); "Students as Theorists: Collaborative Bypertextbooke (James J. SoSnoski); and "Selected Further Resources for Theoryand Pedagogy: A Bibliographic Essay" (James M. Cahalan and David B. Downing). A 31-page comprehensive listing of references is attaciled. (RS) *********************************************************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document. * *********************************************************************** cit 4:r ractic g heo ctd: c:4 C74 Inoducto Collegeiterat Courses Edited by Jamcs NI. Cahalan JI David B. Dovu OHL; US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION "PERMISSION TO REPHODUI ETHIS Office ot Educational Research d trAP,Ovitinnt MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED EMICATIONAl RESOURCES INFORMATION BY .1 CENTFR (ERIC) Th,s document has been reproduced *I1 received from the person or organization originating it 0 Minor changes have been made tO imPrOve fecuoduct.on Quality BEST COPY AVAILABLE Points of view or ocinionit stated in this ti'DCU TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES ment do not necessarily represent eta& OERI position or policy INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) COLLEGE SECTION COMMI7.7EE Tilly Warnock, Chair University of Wyoming Lil Brannon SUNY at Albany Doris 0. Gbm, CCCC Representative Jackson State University Brenda M. Greene Medgar Evers College, CUNY Linda H. Peterson Yale University James F. Slevin Georgetown University Joseph F. Trimmer Ball State University Art Young Clemson University James Raymond, ex officio University of Alabama H. Thomas McCracken, CEE Representative Youngstown State University Janet Emig, Executive Committee Liaison Rutgers University 3 I MilI *MY Practicing Theory in Introductory College Literature Courses Edited by James M. Cahalan and David B. Downing Indiana University of Pennsylvania National Council of Teachers of English 1111 Kenyon Road, Urbana, Illinois 61801 - 4 NCTE Editorial Board: Richard Abrahamson, Celia Genishi, Joyce Kinkead, Richard Lloyd-Jones, Gladys V. Veldemanis, Charles Suhor, chair, ex officio; Michael Spooner, ex officio Staff Editor: Robert A. Heister Interior Design: Tom Kovacs for TGK Design Cover Design: Robin Loughran NCTE Stock Number;36659-3050(hardcover) 36532-3050(softcover) 1991 by the National Council of Teachers of English. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. It is the policy of NCTE in its Journals and other publications to provide a forum forthe opendiscussion of ideas concerning the content and the teaching of English and the language arts. Publicity accorded to any particular point of view does not imply endorsement by the Executive Committee, the Board of Directors, or the membership at large, except in announcements of policy, where such endorsement is clearly specified. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Practicing thew; in introductory college literature courses / edited by James M. Cahalan and David B. Downing. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8141-3665-9 (hardcover) ISBN 0-8141-3653-2 (softcover) 1. American literatureHistory and criticismTheory, etc. 2. English literatureHistory and criticismTheory, etc. 3. American literatureStudy and teaching (Higher)4. English literatureStudy and teaching (Higher)5. literatureStudy and teachingTheory, etc.6. LiteratureStudy and teaching (Higher). I. Cahalan, James M. 1953- . II. Downing, David B., 1947- , PS25.P71991 807.1'1dc20 91-29051 Contents Preface ix I. Introduction 1 James M. Cahalan and David B.Downing I. Orientations toward the Student:Reader Response and Psychoanalysis 17 2. Reading from Inside and Outsideof One's Community 19 David Bleich 3. Combining Personal and TextualExperience: A Reader-Response Approach to TeachingAmerican Literature 36 Patricia Prandini Buckler 4. From Clinic to Classroom whileUncovering the Evil Dead in Dracula: A PsychoanalyticPedagogy 47 Mark S. Paris II. Orienting the Reader: NewHistoridsm, Reception Theory, and Marxism 57 5. "Text," "Reader," "Author," and"History" in the Introduction to LiteratureCourse 59 John Schilb 6. In Search of Our Sisters' Rhetoric:Teaching through Reception Theory 72 Louise I Smith 7. The Historical Necessity forandDifficulties withNew Historical Analysis inIntroductory Literature Courses 85 Brook Thomas Contents vi 101 8, The Reader and theText: Ideologies inDialogue John Clifford Collectivist, and III. Confrontational, 113 Feminist Alternatives Pedagogy and the Introductory 9. Confrontational 115 Literature Course Ronald Strickland See: Toward Collectivist 10. The Walls We Don't 131 Pedagogies as Political Struggle C. Mark Hurlbert Canons, and 11. Feminist Theory, Literary 149 the Construction ofTextual Meanings Barbara Frey Waxman 12. Coyote Midwife inthe Classroom: Introducing 161 - Literature with FeministDia logics Patrick D. Murphy IV. Curricular Alternatives:Multicultural and Theoretical Transformationsof Classroom 177 Practice 179 13. A MulticulturalIntroduction to literature Phillipa Kafka 14. "Who Was ThatMasked Man?": LiteraryCriticism and the Teaching ofAfrican American Literature 189 in Introductory Courses Pancho Savery 15. Less Is More:Coverage, Critical Diversity,and the 199 Limits of Pluralism Douglas Lanier 213 V. Dialogue andDeconstruction in the Classroom 16. From Discourse in Life toDiscourse in Poetry: Teaching Poems as BakhfinianSpeech Genres 215 Don Bialostosky Contents vii 17. Teaching Deconstruction: Theory and Practice inthe Undergraduate Literature Classroom 227 Lois Tyson 18. Reading Deconstructively in the Two-Year College Introductory Literature Classroom 239 Thomas Fink VI. Poststructuralism, Postmodernism, and Computer Literacy 249 19. Practicing Textual Theory and TeachingFormula Fiction 251 M. H. Dunlop 20. Theory as Equipment for (Pustmodern)Living 261 Thomas McLaughlin 21. Students as Theorists: Collaborative Hypertextbooks 271 James J. Sosnoski VII. Bibliographic Essay and Comprehensive Works Cited 291 22. Selected Further Refources for Theory and Pedagogy: A Bibliographic Essay 293 James M. Cahalan and David B. Downing Works Cited 335 Index 367 Editors 3 9 Contributors 381 s INIMII - Preface As we enter the 1990s, few would disagree that the past twenty years have witnessed a tremendous explosion of theoretical work in the humanities and social sciences. The recent proliferation of theoretically informed programs in higher education, such as cultural studies, women's studies, interdisciplinary studies,