Teaching Faulkner: Approaches and Methods

For decades now literary critics have universally praised Faulkner as one of the greatest writers of the modern era, yet students assigned to read his novels in university, college, and high school classes continue to struggle to make sense of his convoluted plots, prolix style, and complex characterizations. The broadest treatment to date of a topic of increasing concern, this book is designed to provide fresh strategies and practical suggestions for the classroom study of several of Faulkner's finest novels and stories, including The Sound and the Fury, Absalom, Absalom!, Light in August, The Unvanquished, and Go Down, Moses. The contributors, all noted Faulkner scholars who regularly teach Faulkner works in their courses, employ a variety of critical theories and approaches. In each chapter, theory is subordinated to tested classroom methods that both motivate and assist students in reading the texts and in understanding why Faulkner remains relevant for contemporary readers. The teaching strategies described in this book draw upon such diverse matters as cultural and social analysis, historical context, reading and rhetorical theory, film and stage techniques, comparative studies, and race, class, and gender issues.