Field: A Process for Teaching Literature

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"We teachers of English are accused of being a parochial lot," remarks the author in his introduction to this book. "The accusa-tion is sometimes accurate, particularly where our knowledge of the sciences is con-cerned. Our students, fresh from concepts of 'sets' in mathematics, 'half-life' in chem-istry, 'entropy' in physics, and 'homeostasis' in biology, must fínd us quaint to be un-aware not only of the pervasive influence of these scientific concepts but alsó of their importance to our own field of literary criticism."
To introduce teachers and prospective teachers of English to one of the key concepts of modern science — the Maxwell field theory — and to demonstrate its appli-cations in the teaching of literature, the author first describes the ideas of field theory as they are explored in physics, biology, and psychology and as they have been extended into education. After dis-cussing similar concepts current in the scholarship of the various subject areas of English,... Tovább

Fülszöveg

"We teachers of English are accused of being a parochial lot," remarks the author in his introduction to this book. "The accusa-tion is sometimes accurate, particularly where our knowledge of the sciences is con-cerned. Our students, fresh from concepts of 'sets' in mathematics, 'half-life' in chem-istry, 'entropy' in physics, and 'homeostasis' in biology, must fínd us quaint to be un-aware not only of the pervasive influence of these scientific concepts but alsó of their importance to our own field of literary criticism."
To introduce teachers and prospective teachers of English to one of the key concepts of modern science — the Maxwell field theory — and to demonstrate its appli-cations in the teaching of literature, the author first describes the ideas of field theory as they are explored in physics, biology, and psychology and as they have been extended into education. After dis-cussing similar concepts current in the scholarship of the various subject areas of English, particularly language arts and literature, he joins the principles of scientific
field theory and the principles of "field" from English studies to provide a structure and a method for an analysis of George R. Stewart's növel Storm, which he uses as an example of a field theory approach to litera-tur'e. He concludes by considering the im-plications of the field theory method for preparatory programs for English teachers.
This unusual and provocative book will be of interest not only to teachers of English at all levels but alsó to anyone concerned with the current controversy over the "two worlds" of science and the humanities.
Edward R. Fagan is associate professor of education at The Pennsylvania State Uni-versity. Vissza