Search

This memorandum contains a response to an article in "Change" magazine by Andrew Lupton, John Augenblick, and Joseph Heyison, September 1976. The article presented the results of a study grouping a national sample of colleges and universities into categories according to their financial health. The author's reservations about the "Change" analysis extend to the period of time covered by the study, the sample of institutions included, narrowness of the information base, application of discriminant analysis, arbitrariness of the scale of financial health, circularity in the model, measures of statistical confidence that were reported, use of the same indicators for both private and public institutions, interpretation of the key health indicators used, reliance on HEGIS data, and treatment of the panel ratings as a consensus on financial indicators. (MSE)

A series of seven experiments provided information on the relationship between the learning of prose and the structural importance of the linguistic subunits. Five samples of prose, including narrative folktales and two samples of textual prose, were studied to determine whether the patterning of learning corresponded to the structural importance of the respective verbal units. In this series, an objective method was devised for dividing complex verbal materials into linguistic subunits possessing psychological significance. The learners in Experiments I and II attempted a single verbatim reproduction of a narrative folktale either immediately after reading the folktale or after a seven-day retention interval. Two textual selections were studied in Experiments III and IV and their structural importance rated. Experiment V was conducted to determine whether the relationship between structural importance and recall resulted from learners adopting a learning strategy in which more learning time was allocated to more important units. In Experiments VI and VII, a determination was made of the role of structural importance in the serial learning of linguistic subunits. From a methodological viewpoint, two of the techniques used possess the potential of having wide applicability to the analysis of text. These are: (1) the technique of segmenting prose according to locations of pausal acceptability, and (2) the technique whereby linguistic subunits within a prose passage may be hierarchically ordered. (Author/CK)

This is the second publication of the Literature Study Group using the thematic approach to literature for third through fifth year students in Scottish schools. Eight programs are presented which are a collection of literary texts grouped round a central theme. The programs are the work of different teachers who set out to discover in the classroom how successfully the thematic approach might be used in the later stages of the secondary schools. Presented are teacher's records of the experiment as well as frank discussions of the pitfalls and problems encountered and identified. The programs listed are: (1) The gap between aspirations and the reality of human behavior (Class V); (2) The Class System (Class V); (3) War--and its Aftermath (Class V); (4) Loyalty (Class IV); (5) Childhood (Class IV); (6) Work (Class IV); (7) Family Relationships (Class III); and (8) School Life (Class III). An appendix consists of samples taken from thematic programs produced by graduate students. Teachers using the thematic approach have found (a) discussion in the classroom becomes a very worthwhile activity and that (b) the quality of the writing both in the essays on the literature studied and in the more personal writings on the theme itself improves appreciably in content and style. (Author/LS)

The contributions of Cicero and Quintilian, the two leading Roman rhetoricians, were based on their acceptance of the prior philosophical theories of Isocrates, which emphasized a cultural approach to rhetoric. Cicero and Quintilian, drawing from Isocrates, sought prospective orators who had a natural talent for eloquence and who could adopt a cultural approach to rhetoric that emphasized the worth of reading and writing as important to forming the abilities of the model speaker. Their particular contributions were their emphases on the relationships between writing and speaking ability and their construction of systems of rhetoric which viewed the orator as the prime motivator of a group of listeners on a specific occasion. Their writer-speaker centered rhetoric anticipated the tradition of rhetoric and letters that flourished in later centuries, with special relevance for mid-twentieth century students of communication theory. (Author/RN)

Extremists, whether formalists of the New Criticism or of the humanist-moralist tradition, are taken to task in this attempt to combine elements of both in a more pluralistic approach to literary criticism. An analysis of a Frost poem, "Stopping by Woods", is attempted as an illustration of a kind of criticism that seeks to clarify the parts of the poem, to discover the governing principle, and to identify the shaping principle which leads the writer to be concerned with its form. Concluding remarks point out the need to consider the artist as a "maker" and a "shaper", and thus to regard analysis of form as a means of arriving at the literary appreciation which the humanist critics propose. (RL)

Three writers debate whether English teachers should depend on external or internal criteria when analyzing and teaching literature. Each writer discusses the meaning of Elinor Wylie's poem, "The Eagle and the Mole," according to his particular view of literary analysis. Edward Ducharme, in "The Evasion of the Text," submits that superficial aspects of literature rather than skills in textual analysis are being taught to future English teachers, and defends his point with evidence from an exercise in poetic analysis in which more than 160 prospective English teachers failed to detect the underlying irony in Wylie's poem. Charles Hoffman, in "Invasion of the Text," submits that Wylie's poem is not ironic in tone, that Ducharme is infusing his own life view into his interpretation rather than using biographical criticism and the corpus of Wylie's work to determine the poem's meaning. Ducharme, in "Again, Evasion of the Text," defends his view that understanding literature depends, not on secondary sources, but on the confrontation between reader and literary work, and explicates the poem to indicate where the irony lies. Finally, Edward Kelly defends an ironic interpretation of the poem, faults both Ducharme and Hoffman for relying on fixed literary positions, and analyzes the poem by both external and internal literary means. (JB)

Described in this article is a critical procedure in the study of literature defined by the author as a method of responsive interrogation of the text. The approach is guided by a study of relevant political, sociological, literary, and intellectual circumstances. Three fundamental questions are central to the discussion of the theory: (1) What does the writer say?, (2) Why does he say this?, and (3) How does he say it? Commentary includes reference to semantics, meaning, literary translation, and structural analysis. (RL)

A manuscript dated 1651 and now housed at the National Library in Florence, Italy, suggests that the document may be the first Italian adaptation of the Spanish drama, "El burlador de Sevilla y Convidado de Piedra" ("The Deceiver of Seville"). The Spanish tragedy, written in 1630 by Gabriel Tellez, known as Tirso de Molina, introduced the character of Don Juan. Four Italian seventeenth century artists are identified as possible dramatists of the Italian version but critics cannot agree on which one of them actually wrote the manuscript, "Convitato di Pietra", under scrutiny. Giacinto Andre Cicognini is alleged to have composed the work in 1650. Giovanni Battista Andreini (1651), Lionne Allacci, and Onofrio Giliberto di Solofra (1652) are also cited as possible authors although the apparent date of their plays follows the publication of the manuscript. A comparison of similarities and differences in the four versions is made. (DS)

After the needs of secondary students were assessed realistically, an English program was designed at Katella High School, Anaheim, California, to provide all students with more challenging, in-depth learning experiences and to equip college-bound students with the kinds of capabilities they will need in college. The program disregards traditional ability and grade level grouping practices and places students in remedial reading and composition courses according to skill proficiency. For all students not requiring remedial work, a growing number of academic courses is offered in American literature, advanced composition, dramatic literature, poetry, mythology, folklore, language study, and narrative fiction. Each course has a specific focus. In literature, for example, rather than surveying authors and works, the text of each work chosen for study is carefully examined. Some of the immediately apparent advantages of this plan are that students claim to be more enthusiastic about English; 10th and 11th graders are academically stimulated by taking classes together; teachers and students can study in depth; and assignments in literature, language, and composition become meaningful preparation for college. (JB)

Discusses possible uses of computer-generated concordances in literary analysis, with specific examples from French literature. (AM)

Examines the content of Jefferson's Declaration of Independence and William's "The Element of Logick" and points out corresponding similarities of phrasing and doctrine. (MH)

Discusses the presence of a diabolical tempter in several works of Utopian fiction. (DD)

Argues the need for explicit rules for the use of critical terms, and provides four such rules. (DD)

Analyzes scholarly criticisms of "Elementary Forms of the Religious Life" by Emil Durkheim for the purpose of illustrating various approaches to sociological theory. Durkheim's theory of sacrifice is reinterpreted to serve as the basis for a new approach to the history of sociological theory. (Author/DB)

Describes the use of the computer program EDIT for textual searches to locate a certain programmed word or word root. In the examples explained here, the vocabulary search is performed on poetry and allows examination of the metaphorical and conceptual poetic atmosphere achieved through word use. (Text is in Spanish.) (CHK)

Argues that Patrick Henry's "Liberty or Death" speech of 1775 lacks textual authenticity and discusses how and why a text was created to replace the oral tradition of "Liberty or Death" and why its influence has continued for two hundred years. (MH)

Comments on a recent "Prospects" article on education in developing countries are presented. The author, a World Bank executive, commends the efforts of the Education Department of the World Bank at looking, listening, and discussing on the spot all aspects of the development process and in financing educational reform in economically disadvantaged countries. (Author/DB)

Comments on a recent "Prospects" article on education in developing countries are presented. The author, an Indian newspaper editor, maintains that, in spite of the claims of the author in the original article, there are no technical solutions to education in developing nations because it is, essentially, a political problem. (Author/DB)

Presents axioms about scholarship, learning, English scholarship, and English teaching and examines a little recognized intellectual crisis in current English scholarship. (GW)

Reviews previous research on the nature and extent of textual revisions in the Congressional Record, the official reports of the debates of Congress. Offers survey results indicating that while revisions occur, the material is sufficiently accurate in substance to allow complete rhetorical analysis and criticism. (MH)

Analyzes textbooks currently in use in secondary level vocational training courses in the Soviet Union. Recommendations for textbook improvement call for research by educators, scientists, and publishers on problems of writing textbooks for vocational technical schools. (Author/DB)

Analyzes the writings of E. D. Hirsch, Jr., concluding that stability of meaning is inescapably a function of the perceived accuracy of an interpretation; it is not an intrinsic feature of the text. (DD)

Responded to a 1973 journal article by R. S. Peters which defended education as a topic of research in institutes of higher education. The author argues that degrees in education without practical experience are an educational disaster and should be abandoned. (Author/DB)

Structuralist literary criticism, in its methods and claims to being scientific, strongly resembles the "New Criticism."

Defines pornography as sexually explicit material and investigates several aspects of "adult only" paperback fiction which is easily accessible to the general American public. (MH)

Barthes'"S/Z: An Essay" offers ways of approaching critical problems not well dealt with in Anglo-American criticism.

"The Man Hunters" is a film about paleoanthropology. This article is a personal account of how the film was put together using anthropological knowledge and numerous anthropologists and how the film was received by the American public. (Author)

Responded to a series of criticisms which appeared in the Spring issue of this journal and which claimed that the author had distorted John Dewey's position in educational history. Suggestions for further areas of exploration of the Dewey legacy are made and many quotations from Dewey's works are included. (Author/DB)

Responded to four articles in a recent issue of the journal which defended John Dewey against some of the criticisms of revisionist historians. Claiming to be neither an historian not a revisionist as these articles suggested, the author praised Dewey's spirit of open inquiry and recommended this same spirit to liberal scholars in their research. (DB)