The central concern of this radically innovative study is to offer a critique of traditional Hispanism in the light of its assumption of a transcendental subject and its corresponding insistence on the autonomy of the literary text. Rereading canonic Spanish texts from Renaissance humanism to modernist literature, Read deploys a theoretical basis of post-structuralist thinking and brings Kristeva, Foucault, Althusser, Eagleton, and other important theorists to bear on a field hardly touched by such approaches. Chapters 1 and 2, dealing with Garcilaso de la Vega and Calderonian drama, respectively, argue the need to relate cultural development to the transition from medieval organicism to bourgeois animism. Chapters 3 and 4, which treat the Enlightenment figures Martín Sarmiento and Jovellanos, show how rationalism presupposes a binding of the body (of language). Chapters 5 and 6 argue that the neo-idealist view of language in modern linguistics and literature posits an overdetermined subject, which is a symptom of and a reaction to the reification of capitalism. Read's study not only provides new readings of canonic texts but also brings under critical scrutiny some of the assumptions about the human subject and the role of writing and literature that are implicit in the construction of the field of Hispanism itself. Language, Text, Subject is recommended for scholars and students of literary theory and Spanish literature, culture, and linguistics.

The globalized use of language calls into question conventional ways of thinking in linguistics,applied linguistics and language pedagogy. This book critically examines this thinking from an historical, at times satirical, perspective and proposes an alternative conceptualization. The first section defines a number of key concepts about communication which are taken up in subsequent sections and shown to be relevant to the different but related areas of language study. Issues about the relationship between linguistics and applied linguistics set the scene for a discussion of the nature of discourse, and then how this bears on the understanding of the globalised use of English as a lingua franca.The final section considers the implications of this perspective on communication for how the subject of English language teaching might be redefined. The book is relevant for anyone who sees the need for a critical consideration of established concepts in linguistics and language pedagogy.

Essential study guides for the future linguist. Text Analysis and Representation is a general introduction to the methods and principles behind English linguistics study, suitable for students at advanced level and beyond. Written with input from the Cambridge English Corpus, it looks at the way meaning is made using authentic written and spoken examples. This helps students give confident analysis and articulate responses. Using short activities to help explain analysis methods, this book guides students through major modern issues and concepts. It summarises key concerns and modern findings, while providing inspiration for language investigations and non-examined assessments (NEAs) with research suggestions.

The work of the German philosopher Manfred Frank has profoundly affected the direction of the contemporary debate in many areas of philosophy and literary theory. This present collection, first published in 1998, brings together some of his most important essays, on subjects as diverse as Schleiermacher's hermeneutics, the status of the literary text, and the response to the work of Derrida and Lacan. Frank shows how the discussions of subjectivity in recent literary theory fail to take account of important developments in German Idealist and Romantic philosophy. The prominence accorded language in literary theory and analytic philosophy, he claims, ignores key arguments inherited from Romantic hermeneutics, those which demonstrate that interpretation is an individual activity never finally governed by rules. Andrew Bowie's introduction situates Frank's work in the context of contemporary debates in philosophy and literary theory.

The untold story of the root cause of America's education crisis--and the seemingly endless cycle of multigenerational poverty. It was only after years within the education reform movement that Natalie Wexler stumbled across a hidden explanation for our country's frustrating lack of progress when it comes to providing every child with a quality education. The problem wasn't one of the usual scapegoats: lazy teachers, shoddy facilities, lack of accountability. It was something no one was talking about: the elementary school curriculum's intense focus on decontextualized reading comprehension "skills" at the expense of actual knowledge. In the tradition of Dale Russakoff's The Prize and Dana Goldstein's The Teacher Wars, Wexler brings together history, research, and compelling characters to pull back the curtain on this fundamental flaw in our education system--one that fellow reformers, journalists, and policymakers have long overlooked, and of which the general public, including many parents, remains unaware. But The Knowledge Gap isn't just a story of what schools have gotten so wrong--it also follows innovative educators who are in the process of shedding their deeply ingrained habits, and describes the rewards that have come along: students who are not only excited to learn but are also acquiring the knowledge and vocabulary that will enable them to succeed. If we truly want to fix our education system and unlock the potential of our neediest children, we have no choice but to pay attention.