Research Article
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Implementation of Reader-Response Theory in Teaching Short Story

Year 2018, Volume: 4 Issue: 2, 63 - 76, 17.12.2018

Abstract

















Reader-response theorists such as I. A. Richards (1974), L. Rosenblatt (1993), S. Fish (1970), and W. Iser (1978) argue that reading is an act which is actualized in the form of a “transaction” between the text and the reader. They observe that each reading activity is a unique experience in which the reader is involved in ethical, intellectual, social and aesthetic terms as a whole. In this paper we share our experiences of using Graham Greene’s short story, The Destructors, in “literature and language teaching” course as a sample. Indeed, the students are asked to write response papers for different short stories for twelve weeks. The data is analyzed qualitatively and thematically by using the tools suggested in reader-response theory. To collect personal response, we asked the students to read the short story as out-of-class assignment and write personal responses focusing mainly on the three approaches as “literature as content”, “language-based” and “literature for personal enrichment” elaborated and categorized by G. Lazar (1993). Students’ responses suggested that they treated the short story as transaction, and that they produced aesthetic readings rather than efferent. Producing response papers regularly during term-time contributed to the students’ critical and creative reading skills. It is observed that eventually the students become mature and confident readers and learn how to go beyond the written text by adding their individual aesthetic judgments. 







References

  • Beach, R. (1993). A Teacher's introduction to reader-response theories. NCTE teacher's introduction series. Urbana: National Council of Teachers of English.
  • Carter, R. (2007). Literature and language teaching 1986-2006: A review. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 17, 3-13. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1473-4192.2007.00130.x
  • Connell, J. (1996). Assessing the influence of Dewey's epistemology on Rosenblatt’s reader-response theory. Educational Theory, 46(4), 395-413. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-5446.1996.00395.x
  • Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and education. New York: Simon & Schuster.
  • Galda, L. (1990). A longitudinal study of the spectator stance as a function of age and genre. Research in the Teaching of English, 24(3), 261-278.
  • Gale, C. L. (2016). A study guide for Graham Greene's Destructors. Gale: Cengage Learning.
  • Greene, G. (1955). Twenty-one stories. London: Heinemann.
  • Iser, W. (1978). The act of reading. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University.
  • Feldmann, H. (1982). The Idea of history in Graham Greene’s The Destructors. Studies in Short Fiction, 19(3), 241.
  • Fish, S. (1970). Literature in the reader: Affective stylistics. New literary history, 2(1), 123-162.
  • Fish, S. E. (1980). Is there a text in this class?: The authority of interpretive communities. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
  • Karolides, N. J. (2000). Reader-response in secondary and college classrooms. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
  • Karl, F. R. (1962). A reader's guide to the contemporary English novel. New York: Syracuse University Press.
  • Kolin, P. C. (2000). Greene's The Destructors. The Explicator, 58(3), 158-161. https://doi.org/10.1080/00144940009595972
  • Lazar, G. (1993). Literature and language teaching: A guide for teachers and trainers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Ower, J. (1975). Dark parable: history and theology in Graham Greene’s The Destructors. Cithara, 15(1), 69.
  • Park, J. Y. (2012). Re-imaging reader-response in middle and secondary schools: Early adolescent girls’ critical and communal reader responses to the young adult novel Speak. Children's Literature in Education, 43(3), 191-212. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10583-012-9164-5
  • Poole, A. (Ed.). (2009). The Cambridge companion to English novelists. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Richards, I. A. (1974): Principles of Literary Criticism. Oxon: Routledge.
  • Rosenblatt, L. M. (1982). The literary transaction: Evocation and response. Theory into practice, 21(4), 268-277.
  • Rosenblatt, L. M. (1993). The transactional theory: Against dualisms. College English, 55(4), 377-386. https://doi.org/10.2307/378648
  • Rosenblatt, L. M. (1994). The reader, the text, the poem: The transactional theory of the literary work. SIU Press.
  • Salvatori, M. (1983). Reading and writing a text: Correlations between reading and writing patterns. College English, 45(7), 657-666. https://doi.org/10.2307/377175
  • Sherry, N. (2016). The life of Graham Greene. London: Vintage Books.
  • Stockwell, P. (2005). Cognitive poetics: An introduction. London: Routledge
Year 2018, Volume: 4 Issue: 2, 63 - 76, 17.12.2018

Abstract

References

  • Beach, R. (1993). A Teacher's introduction to reader-response theories. NCTE teacher's introduction series. Urbana: National Council of Teachers of English.
  • Carter, R. (2007). Literature and language teaching 1986-2006: A review. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 17, 3-13. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1473-4192.2007.00130.x
  • Connell, J. (1996). Assessing the influence of Dewey's epistemology on Rosenblatt’s reader-response theory. Educational Theory, 46(4), 395-413. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-5446.1996.00395.x
  • Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and education. New York: Simon & Schuster.
  • Galda, L. (1990). A longitudinal study of the spectator stance as a function of age and genre. Research in the Teaching of English, 24(3), 261-278.
  • Gale, C. L. (2016). A study guide for Graham Greene's Destructors. Gale: Cengage Learning.
  • Greene, G. (1955). Twenty-one stories. London: Heinemann.
  • Iser, W. (1978). The act of reading. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University.
  • Feldmann, H. (1982). The Idea of history in Graham Greene’s The Destructors. Studies in Short Fiction, 19(3), 241.
  • Fish, S. (1970). Literature in the reader: Affective stylistics. New literary history, 2(1), 123-162.
  • Fish, S. E. (1980). Is there a text in this class?: The authority of interpretive communities. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
  • Karolides, N. J. (2000). Reader-response in secondary and college classrooms. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
  • Karl, F. R. (1962). A reader's guide to the contemporary English novel. New York: Syracuse University Press.
  • Kolin, P. C. (2000). Greene's The Destructors. The Explicator, 58(3), 158-161. https://doi.org/10.1080/00144940009595972
  • Lazar, G. (1993). Literature and language teaching: A guide for teachers and trainers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Ower, J. (1975). Dark parable: history and theology in Graham Greene’s The Destructors. Cithara, 15(1), 69.
  • Park, J. Y. (2012). Re-imaging reader-response in middle and secondary schools: Early adolescent girls’ critical and communal reader responses to the young adult novel Speak. Children's Literature in Education, 43(3), 191-212. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10583-012-9164-5
  • Poole, A. (Ed.). (2009). The Cambridge companion to English novelists. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Richards, I. A. (1974): Principles of Literary Criticism. Oxon: Routledge.
  • Rosenblatt, L. M. (1982). The literary transaction: Evocation and response. Theory into practice, 21(4), 268-277.
  • Rosenblatt, L. M. (1993). The transactional theory: Against dualisms. College English, 55(4), 377-386. https://doi.org/10.2307/378648
  • Rosenblatt, L. M. (1994). The reader, the text, the poem: The transactional theory of the literary work. SIU Press.
  • Salvatori, M. (1983). Reading and writing a text: Correlations between reading and writing patterns. College English, 45(7), 657-666. https://doi.org/10.2307/377175
  • Sherry, N. (2016). The life of Graham Greene. London: Vintage Books.
  • Stockwell, P. (2005). Cognitive poetics: An introduction. London: Routledge
There are 25 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Journal Section Research Articles
Authors

Dilek İnan 0000-0002-5128-8409

Merve Boldan This is me

Publication Date December 17, 2018
Submission Date October 15, 2018
Published in Issue Year 2018 Volume: 4 Issue: 2

Cite

APA İnan, D., & Boldan, M. (2018). Implementation of Reader-Response Theory in Teaching Short Story. The Literacy Trek, 4(2), 63-76.

Creative Commons License The content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Copyright rests with the author; The Literacy Trek must be referred properly.