Foundational Concepts Slide Decks
These slide decks are intended for introducing students to foundational concepts in intercultural studies and critical literacy. They are interactive and can be used in an online course setting to complement other assigned texts. Educators could use the slide deck as the basis for a narrated presentation on each topic. The slide decks can easily be modified to focus more specifically on a certain time period, literary movement, cultural context, or thematic focus. The last slide of each deck integrates the theories and critical lenses at the bottom of this page.
(De)Colonization
Culture
Diaspora
Economic Systems
Gender
Narrative
Race
Sexuality
Theory as Tool for Empowerment
Throughout my 20 years of teaching, theory has been a powerful tool for transforming my practice. I first read Teaching to Transgress by bell hooks twelve years ago as I was preparing to transition to teaching at a community college. Reading hooks was the first time I felt “permission” to show up as my full, imperfect, complicated self in the classroom and set up the circumstances for my students to do the same. Teaching in the way hooks describes takes courage and knowledge of how power functions socially and, specifically, in classrooms. Through many mistakes, growth, and personal and professional evolution, I’ve continued to turn to hooks time and time again for wisdom. Each time I find something else that I need. “Looking out over the class, across race, sexual preference, and ethnicity, I saw students nodding their heads. And I saw for the first time that there can be, and usually is, some degree of pain involved in giving up old ways of thinking and knowing and learning new approaches. I respect that pain. And I include recognition of it now when I teach, that is to say, I teach about shifting paradigms and the discomfort it can cause” (43).
This passage resonated with our current context as students and educators engage with (perhaps) new understandings of structural racism in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and global uprisings for racial justice. There is the pain of Black students and colleagues who wonder why another Black man had to die at the hands of police in order for this many white people to finally wake up to the realities of police brutality in the U.S. There is the pain of white students and colleagues who are reminded of or are truly facing for the first time their complicity in white supremacy. Holding space for this pain and/or discomfort is challenging, especially as many of us are teaching in virtual (online) spaces. Literature classrooms can be generative spaces for encountering and grappling with these “interlocking systems of domination” (hooks) and the dangerous conditions they create. In order to do this, I must show up fully as an educator and trust the knowledge (born of lived and intellectual experiences) that my students bring to our readings of the course texts.
When crafting this pedagogical project, I thought a lot about how to help students cultivate the critical intercultural understanding they need to interpret a text. This includes an understanding of one’s own cultural self, how culture is constructed, and the culture(s) from which the text emerged. When teaching texts for which I do not have a robust cultural context, I draw on interviews with authors and the work of literary critics to help get at some of these nuances and inform my own reading (and, by extension, my teaching). I also trust the knowledge my students bring to the classroom. A large percentage of the students I teach come from cultural backgrounds that are not part of the not white, dominant culture that pervades higher education. As such, they are acutely aware of their cultural selves and the act of navigating another culture (which involves code-switching), because they have do it every day. Centering and empowering student voices and interpretations of a text – especially when it comes to texts that reflect their cultural backgrounds and experiences – is crucial. As I practice this, I am constantly posing this question to myself: “How might I integrate texts from cultural contexts that reflect my students’ lived experiences, and honor the cultural knowledge of students in my class, without tokenizing or putting undue labor on these students?”
An approach that has helped me think through this is reader response. As I strive to teach at the intersection of interculturality and critical literacy (keeping discussions of systems and power at the fore), I’ve found that reader response can be very useful, especially when creating empowering learning communities with diverse groups of students. However, I typically use it in conjunction with other approaches. I’ve noticed that, at times, when students apply a reader response lens to literature in an intro to literature class context, they sometimes lack the understanding of structural power dynamics required to situate themselves within them, and understand how this positionality impacts their reading of a text. I find this to be true particularly with students who have experienced intersecting structural privileges in their lives (as I have).
Another concern I have with implementing reader response as the only analytical approach is classroom power dynamics (that mirror societal power dynamics). My worry is that students may feel vulnerable sharing their perspective because of repercussions they may face outside the classroom. I’m thinking particularly of discussions around race, gender, sexuality, etc. Relying on reader response to get at these truths and create an atmosphere of truth and deeper understanding means that students with less power in society (for example, students who have experienced racism) are often doing the labor of educating students who have not experienced these things. And, in doing so, they are potentially reliving traumatic experiences.
Another tension I hold is, as a white female instructor, I may feel like I’m creating an honest and empowering classroom environment, but that may not be the way my students who have been systematically oppressed experience it (especially students who have trauma from experiencing oppressive educational environments). In order to give students options for how to engage with the texts and hone their understanding of how power functions, I use a variety of lenses that intersect with and reflect literary theories (including reader response).
In his chapter entitled “Hidden Meaning, or, Disliking Books,” in Beyond the Culture Wars, Gerald Graff explains that literary criticism, more specifically the process of learning from and entering into conversation with scholarly voices regarding the “hidden meaning” in texts was integral to his development as a scholar; it is what made him begin to “like” books after a childhood of disliking reading. I found this passage to be important as I think through the role of literary criticism in the literature courses I teach and our class discussions: “Reading the critics was like picking up where the class discussion had left off, and I gained confidence from recognizing that my classmates and I had had thoughts that, however stumbling our expression of them, were not too far from the thoughts of famous published critics. I went back to the novel again and to my surprise found myself rereading it with an excitement I had never felt before with a serious book” (68).
Graff’s chapter made me analyze how I honor student’s voices by facilitating their entry into the literary conversation and how I can do this more effectively. In introductory literature courses at the community college level, it can be intimidating for literature students to know where to begin when it comes to accessing literary criticism. One way I’ve handled this in the past is to give them a quote from a literary critic about a book we are reading and have them discuss in small groups if they agree/disagree with the analysis and why. We also work on literary terminology, and I frame it as a code (which it is), the code of literary analysis. One way to give students an understanding of the myriad ways to interpret a text is to give students a variety of viewpoints from literary critics to consider with each book we read (instead of just 1 or 2). I am also explicit in my framing regarding why it’s important to understand what other people have said/written about the book and how to enter into literary conversations—it’s because my students’ voices matter and need to be heard.
Reading to Understand Interculturality and Power: Critical Lenses and Theory
The critical lenses below provide a framework for both introducing students to literary analysis and teaching them to read for interculturality, power, and narrative considerations in literature. At the beginning of the semester, I explain the concept of literary analysis and introduce students to the critical lenses below. These are a distillation (and in some cases an amalgamation) of major literary theories/schools of criticism. In addition to the questions and strategies listed here, I ask students to develop their own questions and strategies for examining how power functions in the texts through each of these lenses. I add students’ ideas to these lists and we agree, as a group, to use these tools moving forward. This co-creation of critical lenses and questions centers students’ ideas/methods of inquiry, promotes agency, and engenders a shared understanding of our collective literary analysis work throughout the semester.
I ask students to apply the critical lenses to individual and combinations of texts throughout the semester. This is done in the context of class discussions (or online discussion forums), transmediation practice, short writing assignments, smashbooks, and multimodal projects. At various points throughout the semester, I assign readings from The Theory Toolbox to give students the opportunity to flesh out their understandings of these literary theories and approaches to analysis and criticism. I have included suggested chapters from The Theory Toolbox under each critical lens.
As I am moving through a course, I often tell students that we are going to “zoom out” and talk about the bigger picture or the “why” of a particular activity or classroom practice before we “zoom in” and do it. This contextualization is important for helping students understand why and how material and approaches connect to their lives beyond the classroom. I show the video below to set the context for why we engage in literary analysis, because it provides an opportunity for fiction to change us and our realities in even deeper ways.
Culture and/or Ethnicity Lens: Reading a text for issues related to heritage, ethnicity, and culture.
- Analyze how the text discusses or portrays culture, heritage, and ethnicity.
- What images of cultural or ethnic “others” are presented in the text? How are these “others” portrayed?
- Are there any cultural stereotypes? What impact do these cultural stereotypes have?
- How does culture, heritage, and ethnicity inform identity in the text?
- How does culture or ethnicity inform power in the text? Which characters have power (and when)? What are their cultural or ethnic affiliations?
- Analyze the text for how it deals with conflict related to issues of heritage, ethnicity, and culture. Who holds power in these moments of conflict? Why?
- The Theory Toolbox chapters 5, 10, 13
(De)Colonial Lens: Reading a text for issues of colonization and decolonization.
- Analyze how the text discusses or portrays colonization, land ownership, and/or cultural assimilation.
- What images of indigenous people are presented in the text? How are they portrayed?
- How do colonial structures inform identity in the text?
- How do (de)colonial processes inform power in the text? Which characters have power (and when)?
- Analyze the text for how it deals with conflict related to issues of (de)colonization. Who holds power in these moments of conflict? Why?
- The Theory Toolbox chapters 4, 7, 9
Diaspora Lens: Reading a text for issues of (im)migration and diaspora
- Analyze how the text discusses or portrays (im)migration and diaspora.
- What images of members of diaspora communities are presented in the text? How are they portrayed?
- How does culture, heritage, and ethnicity inform identity in the text?
- How does diaspora inform power in the text? Which characters have power (and when)? Are they part of a diaspora communities?
- Analyze the text for how it deals with conflict related to issues of (im)migration and diaspora. Who holds power in these moments of conflict? Why?
- The Theory Toolbox chapters 5, 8, 10, 13
Gender Lens: Reading a text for its gender related issues or attitudes towards gender.
- Consider the gender of the author and the characters. What role does gender play in the text?
- Observe how gender stereotypes might be reinforced or undermined. Try to see how the text reflects or distorts the places or roles of people of different genders in society.
- Does the author rely on the gender binary or non-binary constructions?
- Imagine reading the text from the point of view of someone from another gender identity. What might stand out to you?
- How do gender and power intersect in the text? Which characters have power (and when)? What are their genders?
- The Theory Toolbox chapters 10, 13
Historical Lens: Reading a text for its contextual significance (this could include information about the author, his or her historical moment, or the systems of meaning available at the time of writing).
- Research the author’s life and relate the information to the text. Why did the author write it?
What is the author’s worldview? What are the author’s biases? - Research the author’s time (political history, intellectual history, economic history, etc.)
and relate this information to the work. - Who held power (and under what circumstances) during this time in history?
- Consider the relationship of power and narrative/telling in this historical context. Who determines the narrative about historical events? Who determines “quality” literature and what “deserves” to be published? How does this shape narrative choices and the creation of this text?
- Upon reading the text/researching the context, how has your view on the given historical event or period changed?
- The Theory Toolbox chapters 7, 9
Narrative Lens: Reading a text for its formal narrative qualities.
- Who is the narrator?
- How is the narrative structured?
- How is the narrative mediated? How does this mediation impact/inform power dynamics?
- Consider the formal elements of the narrative: plot, setting, character, conflict, and theme. How is power conveyed using these elements?
- The Theory Toolbox chapters 2, 3, 9
Psychological Lens: Reading a text for insights on human psychology and the patterns of behavior it produces.
- Why do certain characters act the way they do?
- Think of the range of human emotions. How do they come to play in the text?
(happiness, anger, depression, indifference, confusion, etc.) - Reflect on the choices the characters make. How are the characters’ choices impacted by power structures?
- How do power structures impact the characters’ psychology and behavior?
- What broader social issues does this text address? How might these might these issues impact the psychological states and behaviors of the characters?
- The Theory Toolbox chapters 4, 5, 6
Race Lens: Reading a text for issues of race and racism.
- Analyze how the text discusses race and racism. What are the racial identities of the characters? How do they interact with each other?
- What images of “others” are presented in the text? How are these “others” portrayed?
- Are there any stereotypes? What impact do these stereotypes have?
- How does race inform power in the text? Which characters have power (and when)? What are their races?
- Analyze the text for how it deals with racism and conflict, particularly between dominant and marginalized groups.
- The Theory Toolbox chapters 9, 10, 13
Reader Response Lens: Reading a text for personal meaning and relevance.
- In what ways is the text familiar to your lived experience?
- Consider the events in the story, the types of characters, or the setting. Can you relate to any of these elements on a personal level?
- In what ways is the text different from your lived experience?
- How did the text affect you?
- How are the experiences and worldviews presented in the text similar to or different from your own?
- How does your identity and position within society/power within social structures inform your reading of the text?
- The Theory Toolbox chapters 2, 3, 4, 13
Sexuality Lens: Reading a text for issues related to sexuality.
- Consider the sexualities of the author and the characters. What role does sexuality play in the narrative?
- Observe how stereotypes surrounding sexuality might be reinforced or undermined. Try to see how the text reflects or distorts the places or roles of people of different sexualities in society.
- Imagine reading the text from the point of view of someone from another sexual identity. What might stand out to you?
- How do sexuality and power intersect in the text? Which characters have power (and when)? What are their sexual identities?
- The Theory Toolbox chapters 10, 13
Socio-Economic Lens: Reading a text for issues related to economics and social impact.
- What is/are the economic system(s) represented in this text?
- Explore the way different demographics are represented in texts.
- What worldview does the text represent? How is this related to or determined by social or economic issues?
- What does the text say about social class and power structures?
- Who holds power in the text? How is this power related to the socio-economic status of the characters? How is power supported or undermined by the economic system(s) in the text?
- Analyze the social conditions reflected in the text and/or the social effects of the text.
- The Theory Toolbox chapters 10, 13
Works Cited
Graff, Gerald. Beyond The Culture Wars: How Teaching the Conflicts Can Revitalize American Education. Norton, 1992.
hooks, bell. Teaching to Transgress: Education as The Practice of Freedom. Routledge, 1994.
Nealon, Jeffrey T. The Theory Toolbox: Critical Concepts for the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2012.
Narrative (and) Power 