Reader-response criticism focuses on the active role of the reader in creating meaning in a work of literature. Since different readers experience the same work differently, the validity of a particular interpretation is established through a group process of negotiation among members of a reading community. / This study was undertaken to determine whether a first-year college composition course involving the study of literature can be taught effectively by means of methods based on the assumptions of reader-response criticism. / A class taught by reader-response methods was compared with two other classes. Students in the three sections completed attitude questionnaires before and after the course. Their final essays, written on a common topic, were scored holistically by impartial evaluators. Five students from each section were subjects of case studies; they were interviewed regarding their attitudes toward writing and literature, and they wrote brief interpretive responses to three poems at intervals during the semester. Their written interpretations were scored holistically and their interview responses analyzed qualitatively for information on how students perceive English classes and what problems they associate with the study of literature and writing. / The attitude questionnaries showed that the reader-response students' attitudes toward literature and writing improved as much as did those of students taught by more traditional methods. Their scores on the final essay equaled those of the other two classes. The case study analysis indicated that the reader-response group's ability to write interpretive responses to poetry improved twice as much as that of one control group and eight times as much as that of the other group. / It was concluded that reader-response criticism is a viable basis for effective teaching of such composition courses. Student attitudes improve; students write essays similar in overall quality to those written in more traditional classes; and many problems common to such courses are alleviated. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-05, Section: A, page: 1637. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1986.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_75811 |
| Contributors | PRICE, MARIAN WHITLOW., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 240 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
Page generated in 0.0017 seconds