Today Chelsey and Sara dig up some well-loved English major lingo and dust it off. We’re talking about critical theory and how it enhances our reading lives, starting with the feminist or gender lens. We provide examples and suggestions for how to incorporate critical theory into your everyday reading life because you don’t have to be a teacher, English major, or scholar in order to get the most out of this tool!

Books Discussed in Today’s Episode:

Emma by Jane Austen: https://bookshop.org/a/1300/9780143107712

The Awakening by Kate Chopin: https://bookshop.org/a/1300/9780743487672

A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf: https://bookshop.org/a/1300/9780156787338

If you’d like to learn more, check out these resources:

Introduction to Literary Theory: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/writing_in_literature/literary_theory_and_schools_of_criticism/index.html

Feminist Criticism: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/writing_in_literature/literary_theory_and_schools_of_criticism/feminist_criticism.html

The Bechdel Test: https://bechdeltest.com/

Resources for Middle and High School teachers:

Critical Encounters in Secondary English by Deborah Appleman: https://bookshop.org/a/1300/9780807756232

“Teach the How”: https://secure.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/EJ/1034-mar2014/EJ1034Teach.pdf

How and Why to Teach Literary Theory in Secondary ELA: http://doccopteaching.com/2019/03/26/how-and-why-to-teach-literary-theory-in-secondary-ela/

5. English Major Lingo and getting academic with the feminist and gender lens

Novel Pairings