Teaching at the Crossroads
Cultures and Critical Perspectives in Literature by Women of Color
Teaching at the Crossroads presents an innovative model for teaching multicultural women’s literature. Combining theory and practice, Grobman presents a much-needed guide for teachers who want to introduce their students to multiple literary traditions. The model presented here encourages teachers approach texts by women of color from multiple perspectives, connecting them to a range of cultural, social, political, and geographical contexts. Perhaps most significantly, this strategy is designed to place texts by women of color at the center of the curriculum not only in classes specifically designated “ethnic” or “women’s” literature, but in all English classes, in both high school and university settings. Highly accessible and designed for practical use, Teaching at the Crossroads includes sample class plans and discussion questions.
The author has done us a great service in sharing her carefully thought-through pedagogy in the spirit of promoting responsible and responsive education. —MELUS
Laurie Grobman received her Ph.D. in English from Lehigh University in 20th Century American Literature/Multicultural Literature. She has published criticism on the work of Sandra Cisneros, Judith Ortiz-Cofer, and Toni Morrison, among others, as well as theoretical work on pedagogical issues. Her articles on such topics as multiculturalism in writing and literary studies, basic writing, and critical pedagogy have appeared in literary and composition journals, including MELUS, College Literature, Journal of Business and TechnicalCommunication,and MAWA Review. She is also a co-founder and co-editor of Young Scholars in Writing: Undergraduate Research in Writing and Rhetoric, an undergraduate research journal that focuses on the publishing of undergraduate writings dealing with writing and rhetoric.
Many of her works focusing on teaching writing and rhetoric have won awards, including: the award for Best Article in 2004 for her article Teaching English in the Two-Year College, and the Outstanding Scholarship in a Book Award from the International Writing Centers Association in 2005, for her book On Location: Theory and Practice in Classroom-based Writing and Tutoring.
She is currently a professor of English and Women’s Studies at Penn State University, Berks-Lehigh Valley College.
