Inviting Other Theoretical Perspectives

Milner and Milner, Critical Synthesis in Bridging English
Appleman, Critical Encounters in High School English

Say Do Sept 21, 2015

I first encountered literary theory as an English major in the late 90’s. I remember finding the various theories vastly confusing and daunting, and I now think my dismay was the result of improper scaffolding. I approached theory as though one literary approach was “best” or “right,” and it was not until entering graduate school in 2003 that I began to see literary criticism as a lens. Milner and Milner offer a well-written, concise, and thoughtful discussion of the various lenses of critical synthesis, grounding the entire dialogue in classic roots. Personally, I felt their explanation of critical theory to be profound and powerful; I had never considered Aristotle and Plato as the original source of criticism, and I love the idea of “opposing but equally helpful” views being their legacy. Milner and Milner’s overview of the differing lenses was very good, I thought, but I have now been studying theory for the past decade and a half; while reading, I wondered if their synopsis would be as useful for a new student of literary criticism. It will be interesting to see what people think in class tonight…

I will need to buy a copy of Appleman’s Critical Encounters because I found it interesting, philosophical, and highly relevant to my own experiences inside the classroom. The chapters for today focused principally on two of the most controversial lenses of literary criticism: feminist and Marxist. What I liked about the chapters (and introduction) was the obvious way that being comfortable with and teaching literary perspectives in the high school English classroom can raise expectations for student learning. While teaching Hamlet, Michael found several activities to help his students think critically about how their own power and privilege impacted their reading of the text, as well as how power is a central conflict of the play. Looking at classical feminist texts and using a feminist lens to look at ANY text resonated with me as a teacher, as I regularly use “The Yellow Wallpaper” and The Awakening to demonstrate the necessity of a feminist lens.

The tricky part of teaching literary criticism as “lenses” is that we are stating that there is no absolute truth concerning literature, and this concept is very easily misunderstood by many students, parents, and communities as an OVERALL attack on traditional values and religious beliefs. I think it is essential that we ground our students in the idea that the varying lenses help us understand TEXTS more clearly, and that we may use the academic discipline of criticism without losing a personal religious foundation or anchor. Learning to see the world from differing perspectives does not mean that one cannot have a personal worldview. I think it is important to look at texts with Marxist criticism, but I am far from being sympathetic to political communism. I think the effectiveness of literary criticism in my secondary classroom depends greatly on how I approach it with my students. The “lens” approach offered by Milner and Milner and Appleman is my favorite scaffold for students trying on the different glasses of literary criticism.

Say:
I am including a powerpoint I created to help students think about "The Yellow Wallpaper" through both formal analysis and critical synthesis. The questions came from the textbook, An Introduction to Literature by Barnet, Burto, and Cain. This powerpoint allows me to ask different questions for different stories. I can vary class discussion or engagement by "checking" different questions for us to discuss in class or within small groups. I also add my own questions based on what I'd like us to think about together.

Analyzing "The Yellow Wallpaper"