Mixed-heritage people are one of the fastest-growing groups in the United States, yet culturally they have been largely invisible, especially in young adult literature. "Mixed Heritage in Young Adult Literature" is a critical exploration of how mixed-heritage characters (those of mixed race, ethnicity, religion, and/or adoption) and real-life…

How can teachers merge research and daily practice? Where can they find the time, information, and resources? In exploring this issue, it is important to clarify the definition of "research". "Research" might mean (1) using best practices that are already research-based or (2) doing research on one's own students. For purposes of discussion in…

The author, an English professor, shares his experience in retaking the Graduate Record Examination in English literature, 25 years after he entered graduate school at the University of Virginia. He took the practice test instead of the "real" test, for a number of reasons. He wanted to be able to look over the questions afterward; to…

In a world literature course, an instructor faces the challenge of engaging the students in classical texts that are historically, geographically, and linguistically "alien" to them. Through a three-step instructional model that includes approximation, thematic relevance, and application, the instructor tries to help students identify,…

The purpose of this article is to assert that there are classic African American children's books and to identify a sampling of them. The author presents multiple definitions of the term classic based on the responses of children's literature experts and relevant scholarship. Next, the manner in which data were collected and analyzed in regard to…

Shakespeare was not known to the Chinese until Lin Zexu's (1785-1850) translation of Hugh Murray's (1789-1845) "Cyclopedia of Geography" (1836). Afterwards Shakespeare in China saw many complicated changes, from being regarded as a story-teller to being fully received as a seasoned playwright and poet, and his plays were rendered into…

Liberal education has been disappearing, and what remains is diminished and compromised. At Temple University, the largest department in the college of liberal arts is criminal justice. The second largest is counseling psychology, and the humanities disciplines have become left-veering sociology. While islands of traditional learning survive, the…

In a country in which, even after the economic crash, there are plenty of resources to go around, people need to think hard about why inequality persists so much more strongly in Britain than anywhere else in Europe. The cause, the author wants to suggest, is a set of deep-rooted, hidden and unacknowledged beliefs, each unjustified yet passed off…

As a 26-year-old English teacher in 1958, Chinua Achebe had no idea that the book he was writing would become a literary classic, not only in Africa but also throughout the world. He could only try to articulate the feelings he had for his countrymen and women. Achebe had a burning desire to tell the true story of Africa and African humanity. The…

Mainstream cultural studies, it seems, is unwilling to take art of any kind seriously, whether popular or classic. Richard Posner is not far wrong in suggesting that the aim of cultural studies "is to knock literature off its pedestal and find vehicles easier than literary works for making political points." To respond fully to literature and art…

Thomas Hebert and Matthew T. McBee's (2007) recent study of gifted university students examines how an honors program can function as a community for social, intellectual, and psychological growth. In particular, they find that honors programs offer advantageous support for gifted students in navigating social isolation, in questioning traditional…

This article reports the findings of a study that investigated the role of graphic novels in teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) to International Baccalaureate students (aged 15-16) in TED Ankara College Foundation Private High School. Two intact 10th grade classes were randomly assigned to the control and experimental groups who studied…

In the writing of "Frankenstein", Mary Shelley was able to change the course of women's learning, forever. Her life started from an elite standpoint as the child of Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin. As such, she was destined to grow to be a major influence in the world. Mary Shelley's formative years were spent with her father and his many…

This article highlights a project that encourages students to connect reading and mathematics instruction by using a data analysis approach. Students analyze sonnets from statistical, literary, and historical points of view in an effort to uncover the true identity of William Shakespeare. (Contains 10 figures.)

As technology is being integrated into educational processes, teachers are searching for new ways to enhance student motivation and learning. Through shared experiences and the results of empirical research, educators can ease social networking sites into instructional usage. "The Social Classroom: Integrating Social Network Use in…