Between Response and Interpretation: Ideological Becoming and Literacy Events in Critical Readings of Literature

Abstract

The study described in this article intended to discover how social processes can influence literary understandings and the development of critical readings of literature in the public space of a classroom. The author draws on Bakhtin's notion of “ideological becoming” to consider how dialogic exchanges focused on works of literature can support or subvert critical understandings. This cross‐case analysis illustrates how two women students changed their responses to a short story as they participated in postreading events in their literature class. The data suggest that one student whose initial response was critical of the status quo changed her thinking about the story and adopted a reading that reflected dominant ideologies. The results of this study suggest that literature teachers who introduce multiple perspectives need to have explicit strategies for supporting students' emerging critical perspectives.

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