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Editorial.


Teaching the Novel and Short Fiction is a broad topic, and the cluster of essays included in this issue thus covers a wide range of interesting subjects.

Several essays propose creative uses of literature to teach other subjects. Stephanie E. Libbon's contribution "Teaching Cultural Diversity in Faust through WAC WAC (Women's Army Corps), U.S. army organization created (1942) during World War II to enlist women as auxiliaries for noncombatant duty in the U.S. army. Before 1943 it was known as the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC). Its first director was Oveta Culp Hobby. " outlines the presentation of the Faust theme in a writing-across-the-curriculum seminar designed to expose students to other cultures and to prompt them to think more critically about their own. Nurten Birlik and Deniz Salli-Copur present several suggestions for the use of short stories in teaching English as a Foreign Language TEFL or Teaching English as a foreign language refers to teaching English to students for whom it is not their mother tongue. TEFL can take place in English-speaking regions, for example in language schools or summer camps or before the start of a university degree, but , with particular focus on grammar, writing, and speaking. In "Using Teen Chick Lit "Chick lit" is a term used to denote genre fiction written for and marketed to young women, especially single, working women in their twenties and thirties. The genre's creation was spurred on, if not exactly created, by Sue Townsend's Adrian Mole diaries which inspired Adele  Novels to Teach Marketing," Peter A. Maresco outlines the incorporation of popular literature to teach marketing students about product placement.

A second set presents what might be termed new approaches to old (or at least canonical The standard or authoritative method. The term comes from "canon," which is the law or rules of the church. See canonical name and canonical synthesis.

canonical - (Historically, "according to religious law")

1. A standard way of writing a formula.
) texts. "Homer's Odyssey
This article is about an episode of The Simpsons. For the epic poem, see Odyssey.
"Homer's Odyssey" is the third full length episode of The Simpsons, that originally aired January 21, 1990.
 as Serious Classroom Entertainment" is the title of the essay by Kimberly K. Bell, who uses a cultural approach and an emphasis on the aesthetics of reading to generate student interest in studying the Greek epic. Alexander L. Kaufman details replacing the traditional method of teaching Malory's Morte Darthur through summary and selection with an examination of the stylistic and cultural similarities between Malory and his contemporary medieval chroniclers. Finally, in "Teaching (Not Preaching) Masterworks in Drama," Carolyn D. Roark describes student-centered instruction that conveys the benefits of canon-based learning without promoting an unquestioning belief in "great texts."

A third set explores larger pedagogical ped·a·gog·ic   also ped·a·gog·i·cal
adj.
1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of pedagogy.

2. Characterized by pedantic formality: a haughty, pedagogic manner.
 and theoretical concerns in the teaching and use of literature. Mary M. Reda interrogates the theoretical shift from autobiography to autoethnography, and in "Problem-Based Learning problem-based learning Medical education An instruction strategy in which groups of students are presented with clinical problems without prior study or lectures. See Cooperative learning.  in the Study of Literature," Tamara Yohannes details the results of a two-semester trial using problem-based learning in four sections of an English literature English literature, literature written in English since c.1450 by the inhabitants of the British Isles; it was during the 15th cent. that the English language acquired much of its modern form.  course focusing on Thomas Hardy.

A final set examines contemporary literary works. Martin Muhlheim explores three aspects of narrative space through a close reading of Frame's short story "You Are Now Entering the Human Heart." Michelle E. Moore focuses on the postmodern elements in DeLilo's novel White Noise, particularly the interweaving of various literary genres Noun 1. literary genre - a style of expressing yourself in writing
writing style, genre

drama - the literary genre of works intended for the theater

prose - ordinary writing as distinguished from verse
 and the reliance on low or popular art forms. Finally, Lisa A. Kirby's "Interrogating Suburbia in The Virgin Suicides," selected for the "Editor's Choice" in this issue, examines the commentary on postmodern suburban life in Eugenides' novel and identifies prompts for students to think about their own communities.

These essays offer a range of strategies and activities for the literature classroom as well as suggestions for incorporating literary works into other courses.

James B. Kelley

Assistant Professor of English, Mississippi State University--Meridian
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Author:Kelley, James B.
Publication:Academic Exchange Quarterly
Date:Mar 22, 2007
Words:441
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