Teaching Literature

by Elaine Showalter

Book Overview

Teaching Literature is an inspirational guidebook for all teachers of English and American literature in higher education.

Written by leading academic, prolific author and cultural journalist, Elaine Showalter Original and provocative reflections on teaching literature in higher education Encourages teachers to make their classroom practice intellectually exciting Wide-ranging - covers the practical, theoretical, and methodological...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0631226249
• ISBN13: 9780631226246
• Release Date: December 2002
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.62 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Practical...usually

Okay, if you're going to be teaching at Harvard or Yale, Showalter's advice is perfect. For those of us outside of the ivy league, she still offers great advice and insight in an easy to read format with abundant references for the novice teacher. Her introduction on anxiety will give any teacher pause to reflect.

Amazing Amazon

The book was NEW. The cost was few. And I got it in a day or two!

Textbook for teaching

I read this book as part of assigned reading for a 'Teaching Practicum' class in my English PhD Program. It was a good, helpful read (even though she has some kind of chip on her shoulder about Yale). We supplemented Showalter with other more theoretical and more anecdotal accounts of teaching literature. I would recommend this book if you're a beginning teacher and would like to accrue some vicarious teaching experience, and think a little more critically and constructively about what you do in the classroom and why.

Excellent help for all teachers of Lit

Teaching Literature is excellent and practical. I have found useful ideas on nearly every page. It's balanced and informative as well as emotionally encouraging.

And Gladly Teach

Professor Showalter's book about the teaching of literature is the most honest, realistic, directly applicable work in the field. Avoiding the jargantuan language of the educational establishment, she has put together a most readable work that should aid the beginning instructor as well as the most experienced. Her mind is open to a wide range of pegagogical techniques, recognizing the need for flexible and pragmatic solutions to a highly complex activity. While it is aimed at teachers of literature much of it applies to all areas and levels of teaching. Her background of experience and the range of her interests make the advice she gives credible. I only wish I had been able to read such a work when I began teaching over fifty years ago.