On Thursday, February 22nd in ENG466 ‘Teaching Literature and Reading in Middle and High School’ students of Dr. Alisha White – professor of English Education, Disability Studies, and Arts-Based Research – tuned in to a mini-lesson created and presented by Kirsten Lippold, a graduate student here at Western Illinois University. Lippold’s mini-lesson served as an introduction to understanding and implementing Feminist Theory in students’ analyses and teachings of literary texts in the classroom.

Lippold’s lesson began with a quick agenda detailing the topics and activities planned for the class period. Her plans included a free-write to get students thinking about background information and prior knowledge of Feminism and Feminist Theory and a lecture on the history of feminism and its impacts on the analysis of literature.

In addition to her lecture, Lippold led a discussion in tandem with an article students had read before coming to class. This article, titled “Reading as Resistance: Gendered Messages in Media and Literature” explores the study of gender and its influences on literature, as well as how literature is taught in the classroom. The article itself implores readers to think about how media and literature both influence the conceptualization of gender and its societal role and how society’s ideals and values about gender contribute to literature and the development of characters in published texts.

This mini-lesson provided wonderful insight into the use of Feminist Theory to analyze texts and offered beneficial information on the ways future educators can utilize this theory, along with other tools to teach their students in American classrooms. Lippold concluded her lecture with a recommendation to a textbook from one of her classes, stating it as a great resource for students to learn more about the several types of literary theory and the ways they contribute to our understanding of an author’s work.

Here at Western Illinois University in the English Department, Dr. White, among many other fantastic staff, allows English undergraduate students to hear from guest speakers of all English-related disciplines throughout the spring and fall semesters.