In their anthology, Guth and Rico cite as preface to Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown," a student paper saying: "The mere doubt of the existence of good and the thought that other human beings are evil can become such a corrosive force that it can eat out the life of the heart." This is what happens to Brown. In the…

Asking how what an individual knows shapes the ways in which he or she reads, this book starts from the premise that any productive theory of narrative must take into account the presuppositions the reader brings to the text. The book explores how prior knowledge of literary conventions influences the processes of interpretation and evaluation. It…

This paper explores the various options available for dealing with the demands and costs of communication in a world of many languages. Globalization has increased the demand for language services necessary to accomplish effective communication. It is argued that the day is not far off when the complications, costs, and inequalities of language…

This paper describes a disruptive model of interpretation which explores positions in discursive practices embedded in visual culture as a means of understanding self and difference. The model understands interpretation as a Foucauldian technique of the self, and its use may give art teachers and students strategies for understanding the social…

Suggestions for increasing teacher contact. (CH)

Law schools should incorporate more training in scientific method, and social scientists could benefit from study of the subtleties of the law. (Editor)

This study shows that variations in paralinguistic stress cues, based upon Chafe's given--new and contrastiveness notions, can also influence which frameworks subjects use in comprehending ambiguous passages. Educational implications of schematic-triggering phenomena are discussed. (Author/GK)

The relationship between interpretation and stylistics in translation criticism is discussed. In a four-level model for translation criticism, zero-level translations reflect no semiostylistic techniques; levels one and two demonstrate elementary and sophisticated linguistic-stylistic procedures; and the highest level translations reflect the…

Examines how the convention of females interpreting "male" material and males interpreting "female" material affects an audiences evaluation and comprehension of performance. (MH)

Explores a particular aspect of adolescents' literacy development: their growth in the interpretation and appreciation of literature. Examines how decisions about the goals of literature instruction and the kinds of literature selected can create difficulties for maturing readers. Suggests some instructional approaches that support the development…

Explores a set of principles as a guide to art interpretation in "Criticizing Art: Understanding the Contemporary." States that responding to works of art is a means to interpretation, focuses on personal and communal interpretations, and addresses the issues of multiple interpretations of artworks. Includes references. (CMK)

Suggests ways the U.S. Founding Fathers went about the task of interpreting the Constitution. Discusses literalism, arguments from history concerning original intent, moral reasoning, and the concept of precedent as interpretive techniques used by the founders. Sees this variety of techniques as the basis for the U.S. tradition of discussion over…