Given what seems a constant barrage of criticism aimed at the academy from politicians and the public--and the great concern for buzz words like accountability and transparency--it has become fairly routine to see a defense of the humanities in opinion pieces in "Inside Higher Education," "The Chronicle of Higher Education," "The New York Times,"…

I propose that we think about what a paragraph is by considering its "function," what it does in a piece of writing, whether in a popular novel, a newspaper article, an e-mail, a business report, or a lofty piece of literary criticism. We might think about a paragraph as a "rhetorical dwelling."

Describes some of the beneficial effects of studying the heritage embodied in Afro-American Literature. (RB)

Relates a literature class's analysis of a work. Notes student discovery that meaning in a fantasy work resided in a matrix of the author's structuring of the text, the reader's re-creation of that structure internally, and the subsequent development of agreed upon meaning within the group. (MM)

Presents Gregory Corso's poem, "Poets Hitchhiking on the Highway," as an intellectually profitable assignment graphically illustrating the metonymic and metaphoric modes. (MM)

Calls for writing instruction that leads students to realize that meaning depends upon context and perspective. Describes a course in which students "problematize" and write about issues within literary works. Explains that students observe visual artworks which serve as companion pieces to the literary works and to students' own compositions…

Concludes through an examination of recent criticism of William Blake's works that the literary canon is subject to change over time. Suggests that this is true because of both new critical developments and accumulations of new information through research. Argues that even critical theory is affected by such research. (SG)