Teaching the novel and short fiction.Teaching the Novel and Short Fiction. These essays cover a very wide range of topics, yet they can be organized meaningfully into three major groupings. The first includes essays on the complications arising when we teach literature in radically different contexts. Layla Al Maleh and David L. Gugin address the challenges of teaching Anglo-American literature to students in the Arab world “Arab States” redirects here. For the political alliance, see Arab League. The Arab World (Arabic: العالم العربي; Transliteration: al-`alam al-`arabi) stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the , whereas Rob Baum looks at the difficulty of spanning cultural differences--including race, class, gender, and sexuality--within the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . Other essays reflect on related difficulties of teaching literature from earlier centuries to students of today. Carl H. Sederholm focuses on the Gothic and Matthew Hilton-Watson on French naturalism naturalism, in art naturalism, in art, a tendency toward strict adherence to the physical appearance of nature and rejection of ideal forms. Artists as diverse as Velázquez, J. F. Millet, and Monet, have followed naturalistic principles. , while William Wandless addresses more general concerns about the 18th-century novel. A second set focuses on the beginning student, particularly the non-English major, and the need to make meaningful connections between the work and the reader. Colin Irvine describes writing activities that guide students in exploring "the surprising similarities and/or differences between life and literature." Laura Rotunno asks students to consider how their expectations shape their interpretation of what they read. Ann M. Tandy-Treiber encourages students to confront and analyze the racism, sexism and other "isms" in 19th-century fiction. David C. MacWilliams relates how the use of "hometown" novels improves the sense of relevance of assigned readings for students in the composition classroom. Finally, Margaret H. Davis details her strategy of beginning a general education course with well know fairy tales This is a list of fairy tales, the dates of their earliest known printed version, the author and, if known, the collection of tales in which it was published. It should be noted, however, that not all stories listed below would be categorized as fairy tales by a strict definition and lesser known variants, thus prompting students to rethink conventions and to engage in more through analyses of their own experiences. The final set presents strategies for teaching specific works. Preeti Bhatt focuses on the postmodern elements in Muriel Spark's Symposium, Tara Moore explores the cinematic references embedded Inserted into. See embedded system. in Ralph Lombreglia's "Men Under Water," Amy A. Childers uses rhetorical theory to analyze a dinner scene in Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse To the Lighthouse (5 May 1927) is a novel by Virginia Woolf. The freely, multiply discursive tale centers on the Ramsay family and their visits to the Isle of Skye in Scotland between 1910 and 1920. , Toni Wein applies the Freytag pyramid to Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey Northanger Abbey medieval house where Catherine Morland imagines dungeons, ghosts, and mysterious events. [Br. Lit.: Austen Northanger Abbey in Magill II, 750] See : Houses, Fateful , and my essay presents a way to move students beyond the humanistic hu·man·ist n. 1. A believer in the principles of humanism. 2. One who is concerned with the interests and welfare of humans. 3. a. A classical scholar. b. A student of the liberal arts. and New Critical approaches they often bring with them from high school. These essays make suggestions for improving many of our teaching activities and assignments, regardless of the precise works assigned in each course. Michael D. Gose's "Caveats for Teaching the Novel," selected for the "Editor's Choice," addresses many of these same concerns about working with longer pieces of literature and with students majoring in fields other than English. Taken as a whole, this cluster of essays offers a valuable range of strategies and activities for the literature classroom. James B. Kelley, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of English, Mississippi State University--Meridian |
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