Authorizing Readers: Resistance and Respect in the Teaching of Literature (Language and Literacy Series (Teachers College Pr))

By Michael W. Smith and Peter J. Rabinowitz

Authorizing Readers: Resistance and Respect in the Teaching of Literature is a provocative conversation between co-authors that brings to life the symbiotic relationship between theory and practice. This unique collaboration between a literary critic/college professor (Peter J. Rabinowitz) and a high school English teacher/education professor (Michael W. Smith) provides readers with a rich discussion of a central paradox faced by literature teachers: Can teachers claim to have taught well if their students have not learned to recognize (and respect) the ways authors expect them to read? But at the same time, shouldn't students be taught the critical skills of resisting both what authors expect and what teachers see as the right reading? Though each of the authors has a somewhat different view, Rabinowitz and Smith show that what they call "authorial reading" is not only compatible with, but even essential to, progressive teaching and truly engaged readers.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0807736899
• ISBN13: 9780807736890
• Release Date: November 1997
• Publisher: Teachers College Press
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.8" x 8.8"