Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Spring 1979
Abstract
The project "Teaching Women's Literature from a Regional Perspective" was developed in 1976 by the Modern Language Association Commission on the Status of Women in the Profession and has been supported by the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education. The major goal of the project is to improve the teaching of literature through involving students directly in conducting research on the letters, diaries, journals, oral testimonies, and "lost" published literature of the women of their region. Courses have been developed in a number of colleges and universities throughout the country in which students have explored local archives in public libraries and historical societies or have interviewed local women. Although each student had an individual project, classes met as a whole to learn research skills, to analyze findings, and generally to offer mutual support and encouragement. Finally, each student presented her or his findings to an audience outside the classroom. Some went into the community with dramatic readings from diaries and letters; some prepared slide-tape shows; others invited faculty, community people, and family to "celebrations" at which they read excerpts from their research; still others published their work in booklets funded by the project or in local journals.