Appleman, D. (2000). Critical Encounters in High School English: Teaching Literary Theory to Adolescents. Chap. 1

In the opening chapter Deborah Appleman makes the case for 1) explicitly teaching literary theory to high school students and 2) employing a wide-range of literary theories to teach various texts. To me, at this point, literary theories are merely different ways to interpret texts. Each theory has a different perspective and context in which to focus on with a given text. It is easy to point out which texts could be explored through, for example, a feminist perspective; however, I am unsure which theories will best help students make meaning of other texts... Awareness of these 'critical lenses' will enable students to better reflect and respond to texts and as she states "the guiding assumption of the book is that the direct teaching of literary theory in secondary English classes will better prepare adolescent readers to respond reflectively and analytically to teach texts, both 'canonical" and multicultural' (p. 2).

Before I began reading the book I had never really thought about various literary theories, and ironically, my final English methods course, English 4800, is my first introduction to them. Nevertheless, after I read chapter one I felt like I was given plenty of motivation to learn more about literary theories and the benifits of their implementation in high school English classes. Having garnered a little more information about the various contemporary literary theories which exist, it is clear that in my high school English classes, New Critical theory was the predominant one. The book mentions the balancing act between New Critical and Reader Response, but I rarely was asked to connect my personal experiences to the literature I was reading. My teacher was the main interpreter, and most of our time was spent searching for literary elements, especially overarching themes.

With that being said, I've thought of some questions worth answering. First, is explicitly teaching literary theory worthwhile? Should multiple theories find their way into the English language arts classroom, or is connecting personal experiences to literature (i.e. Reader Response) merely enough to evoke reflection/analysis? Has anyone else in Eng. 4800 class been in a classroom that touched on several literary theories and used different ones to teach different texts? Additionally, I think Appleman's 'questions addressed' section is important topic of discussion, hmmm...