For courses in English Composition, Argumentative Writing, and Introduction to Literature. Strategies for Reading and Arguing about Literature brings together the often divergent studies of argumentation and literature.   This textbook teaches the art of academic argumentation through a focus on classic and contemporary literature.  Using this book, students will learn, practice and master critical reading strategies, critical writing and research strategies, the essentials of academic argumentation, and basic literary theory as it relates to the development of an argument.  Concurrently, students will explore and appreciate a variety of literature ranging from the classical to the contemporary in a variety of genres and critical analyses of literary works. 

Table of Contents:
Chapter Practices and Writing Assignment Suggestions Part 1:  Introduction to Argument and Arguing about Literature Chapter 1:  Text as Argument–Argument as Text Why Argue about Anything? Why We Can Argue about Literature What about Literature Is Arguable? Turning In / Turning Out Why Should We Be Concerned about Argument? What Is the Urgency that Prompts an Argument? Who Are You Trying to Influence? What Are Some Possible Audience Responses? What are some barriers the audience may create to resist the argument? What are some of the constraints within which you must work? Conclusion Chapter 1Selections Poem, “We Real Cool,” Gwendolyn Brooks Short Story, “The Holocaust Party,” Robin Hemley    Chapter 2:  Argument Structure and Strategies Argument Structure Claims Claim Qualifiers Evidence Kinds of Support Characteristics of Support Warrants Backing Refutation Conclusion Chapter 2 Selections Review, “A Curtain Up Review: The Laramie Project,” Elyse Sommer Review, “(Mostly) Harmless Theatre Production: The Laramie Project,” Steve Callahan Essay, “A Modest Proposal,” Jonathan Swift     Part 2:  Reading Strategies Overview:  Why Are You Reading §        The Process(es) of reading for pleasure vs. reading for an academic assignment   Chapter 3:  Reading to Understand the Text What’s Going on Here? Annotation   Skeleton Outline Summary Chapter 3 Selections Song Lyrics, “Say I,” Scott Stapp and Mark Tremonti Short Story, “Black Elvis,” Geoffrey Becker Poem, “Call It Fear,” Joy Harjo Short Sotry, “The Welcome Table,” Alice Walker   Chapter 4:  Exploring Your Response to a Text What’s Happening Within The Reader? Photo Collage Dialogue Identifying Patterns of Response Chapter 4 Selections Poem, “Aborted Fetus,” Christopher Davis Poem, “Heartbeats,” Melvin Dixon Short Story, “Riding the Whip,” Robin Hemley     Chapter 5:  Understanding a Text in Context §         What is the framework for this text? §         Personal Inventory §         Author Inventory §         Cultural/Historical Inventory   Chapter 5 Selections Poem, “At an Intersection,” Christopher Davis Short Story, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” Flannery O’Connor     Part 3:  Tools and Techniques for Argument Chapter 6:  Contextualizing Claims and Evidence:  Turning In Making and Supporting Claims about Literature Tools for Turning In:  Deconstruction Repetition Opposition Tools for Turning In:  New Criticism Imagery and Symbolism Similes and Metaphors Connotation and Denotation Chapter 6 Selections Poem, “Ethics,” Linda Pastan Student Essay, “Turning In: An Exploration of `The Second Sermon on the Warpland,” Monica Martin-Kendrick   Chapter 7:  Contextualizing Claims and Evidence:  Turning Out Looking Outside the Text Turning Out with a Focus on Gender Studies Turning Out with a Focus on Psychological Theory Turning Out with a Focus on Historicism Turning Out with a Focus on New Historicism   Chapter 7 Selections Poem, “The White House,” Charles McKay Student Essay, “Anne Sexton’s `Cinderella,’” Amanda Clark     Part 4:  Writing Strategies   Chapter 8:  The Writing Process: Planning Where to Begin? Generating Hypotheses--Good Guesses Generating Content:  Invention Exercises Unstructured Invention Strategies Structured Invention Strategies Finding a Focus  Conclusion Chapter 8 Selection Poem, “In a Station of the Metro,” Ezra Pound   Chapter 9:  The Writing Process:  Drafting, Revising, and Editing Devising an Organizational Plan Choosing an Appropriate Style Revising and Editing Conclusion Chapter 9 Selection Excerpt from Critical Essay, “Handing the Power-Glasses Back and Forth’:  Women and Technology in the Poems by Adrienne Rich,” Audrey Crawford   Chapter 10:  Researching Arguments about Literature Becoming a Literary Detective Identifying Your Purpose Common Research Tools:  Major Print Sources and Web Sites Evaluating the Credibility of Web Sources Information Gathering:  Responsible Research Strategies Avoiding Plagiarism Information Processing:  Reading Responsibly Using Sources Skillfully In-Text Documentation   Chapter 10 Selections Song Lyrics, “Whos Got My Back?” Scott Stapp and Mark Tremonti Poem, “The Emperor of Ice Cream,” Wallace Stevens Critical Essay, “Wallace Stevens, `The Emperor of Ice Cream,’” Arthur F. Bethea Student Essay, “Critical Annotated Bibliography,” Amanda Clark   §         End-of-Text Documentation: Constructing a Works Cited Page Part 5:  Six Thematic Casebooks Casebook 1:  Me, Myself and I:  Exploring Identity Poetry “I Am,” John Clare  “No Coward Soul Is Mine,” Emily Bronte From “Song of Myself,” Walt Whitman “An Agony.  As Now.” Amiri Baraka “Black Hair,” Gary Soto “Poem about My Rights,” June Jordan  “Behind the Golden Son,” Brandon Bowlin Fiction  “A & P,” John Updike  “I Stand Here Ironing,” Tillie Olson Drama  “Beauty,” Jane Martin A Closer Look:  Kurt Vonnegut Interview:  “The Joe and Kurt Show,” Playboy Magazine Short Story:  “Harrison Bergeron” Critical Essay:  “The politics of Kurt Vonnegut’s `Harrison Bergeron’,” Darryl Hattenhauer   Casebook 2:  Growing Up and Older:  His and Hers–Rites of Passage Poetry o       “Grown Up,” Edna St. Vincent Millay o       “Anthem for a Doomed Youth,” Wilfred Owen o       “A Walk after Dark,” W. H. Auden o       “Men at Forty,” Donald Justice o       “Diving Into the Wreck,” Adrienne Rich o       “First Boyfriend,” Sharon Olds o        “Oranges,” Gary Soto o        “Adolescence I, II, III,” Rita Dove o        “Something to Look Forward to,” Marge Piercy Fiction “The Man Who Was Almost a Man,” Richard Wright “Boys and Girls,” Alice Munro Drama “Love Letters,” A.R. Gurney A Closer Look:  Gwendolyn Brooks Interview:  “A Conversation with Gwendolyn Brooks,” Sherman Hackney Poem:  “The Sundays of Satin-Legs Smith” Poem:  “The Lovers of the Poor” Poem:  “A Song in the Front Yard” Critical Essay:  “The Love Song of Satin-Legs Smith:  Gwendolyn Brooks Revisits Prufrock’s Hell.” Casebook 3:  The Ties That Bind:  Relating and Relationships Poetry “Sonnet 18,” William Shakespeare “A Prayer for My Daughter,” William Butler Yeats  “The Bean Eaters,” Gwendolyn Brooks “Daddy,” Sylvia Plath “Cinderella,” Anne Sexton “My Papa’s Waltz,” Theodore Roethke “The Power of My Mother’s Arms,” Florence Weinberger  “I Like My Body When It Is with Your,” E.E. Cummings “Connecting,” Glenn Hutchinson Fiction “Night School,” Raymond Carver “Happy Endings,” Margaret Atwood Drama “WASP,” Steve Martin A Closer Look:  Adrienne Rich Interview:  “Interview with Adrienne Rich” Poem:  “The Burning of Paper Instead of Children” Poem:  “From “Twenty-One Love Poems” Poem:  “Trying to Talk with a Man” Critical Essay:  “This is the oppressor’s language/ yet I need it to talk to you”: Language, a Place of Struggle,” bell hooks   Casebook 4:  Land of the Free, Home of the Brave:  Defining America(ns) Poetry “I Hear America Singing,” Walt Whitman  “Freedom’s Plow,” Langston Hughes “America,” Claude McKay “America,” Allen Ginsberg “In Response to Executive Order 9066,” Dwight Okita “Sermon on the Warpland,” Gwendolyn Brooks “The Sermons on the Warpland:  Gwendolyn Brooks’ Moral Vision,” Malin Pereira “For My People,” Margaret Walker “A Postcolonial Tale,” Joy Harjo “Five Americans,” e. e. cummings Fiction “In the American Society,” Gish Jen “The Lottery,” Shirley Jackson Drama “Body Indian,” Hanay Geiogamah A Closer Look:  Moises Kaufman Interview:  “As Far As He Could Go:  An Interview with the Playwright,” Jesse McKinley Drama:  “The Laramie Project” Critical Essay:  “Town in a Mirror,” Don Shewey   Casebook 5:  (Hu)Man /Nature Poetry “Earth’s Answer,” William Blake “The Eternity of Nature,” John Clare “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” Langston Hughes “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird,” Wallace Stevens “Blackberry Eating,” Galway Kinnel “Heart of Autumn,” Robert Penn Warren  “The Bear,” N. Scott Momaday “The Common, Living Dirt,” Marge Piercy “Where Mountain Lion Lay Down with Deer,” Leslie Marmon Silko “Eagle Poem,” Joy Harjo Fiction “Amen,” Linda Hogan “The Bear,” William Faulkner Drama “The Tempest,” William Shakespeare A Closer Look:  William Stafford Interview:  “William Stafford:  An Interview,” Thomas Kennedy Poem:  “Traveling Through the Dark” Poem:  “Waking at 3am” Poem:  “Evolution” Critical Essay:  “Stafford’s `Traveling Through the Dark’,” Terry Fairchild       Preface Alternate TOC #2: Chapter Literature Selections Chapter 1 Poem, “We Real Cool,” Gwendolyn Brooks Short Story, “The Holocaust Party,” Robin Hemley   Chapter 2 Review, “A Curtain Up Review: The Laramie Project,” Elyse Sommer Review, “(Mostly) Harmless Theatre Production: The Laramie Project,” Steve Callahan Essay, “A Modest Proposal,” Jonathan Swift   Chapter 3 Song Lyrics, “Say I,” Scott Stapp and Mark Tremonti Short Story, “Black Elvis,” Geoffrey Becker Poem, “Call It Fear,” Joy Harjo Short Sotry, “The Welcome Table,” Alice Walker   Chapter 4 Poem, “Aborted Fetus,” Christopher Davis Poem, “Heartbeats,” Melvin Dixon Short Story, “Riding the Whip,” Robin Hemley   Chapter 5 Poem, “At an Intersection,” Christopher Davis Short Story, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” Flannery O’Connor   Chapter 6 Poem, “Ethics,” Linda Pastan Student Essay, “Turning In: An Exploration of `The Second Sermon on the Warpland,” Monica Martin-Kendrick   Chapter 7 Poem, “The White House,” Charles McKay Student Essay, “Anne Sexton’s `Cinderella,’” Amanda Clark   Chapter 8 Poem, “In a Station of the Metro,” Ezra Pound   Chapter 9 Excerpt from Critical Essay, “Handing the Power-Glasses Back and Forth’:  Women and Technology in the Poems by Adrienne Rich,” Audrey Crawford   Chapter 10 Song Lyrics, “Whos Got My Back?” Scott Stapp and Mark Tremonti Poem, “The Emperor of Ice Cream,” Wallace Stevens Critical Essay, “Wallace Stevens, `The Emperor of Ice Cream,’” Arthur F. Bethea Student Essay, “Critical Annotated Bibliography,” Amanda Clark