Mobilizing students’ interpretive resources: A novel take on subjective response in the literature classroom

Authors

  • Amelie Lemieux McGill University
  • Nathalie Lacelle Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20360/G2C591

Keywords:

Texts, Curriculum, Subjectivity, Interpretive Resources, Intersubjectivity

Abstract

Research on literature pedagogy still refers to traditional, text-oriented methods in practice (Todorov, 1982; Peirce, 1977), with occasional consideration for students’ subjectivity through reader-response exercises involving reading logs, surveys, or journals. When addressing subjectivities in individual and collective classroom contexts, researchers should direct attention towards the strategies students mobilize when reading. Owing to Sauvaire’s (2013) typology of interpretive dimensions in reading, this qualitative case study investigates patterns emerging from students’ written and verbalized expressions of their subjectivities in a 9th-grade literature classroom. The data point to conclusive results explaining pathways for interpretive strategies, which vary in group and individual settings.

Author Biographies

Amelie Lemieux, McGill University

Amélie Lemieux, Ph.D. Candidate (Literacy and Curriculum, McGill), is co-chair of the 2016 Canadian Arts Researchers and Teachers pre-conference and acts as French Liaison for the Language and Literacy Researchers of Canada. Her research focuses on youth’s aesthetic meaning-making and reading reception of literary works in classroom settings. Her research has been recognized by the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education (CFEE) with the Tim Casgrain award for research excellence in literacy studies. Her original contributions to research in language and literacy studies have been recognized by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Culture and Society Research Council of Quebec (FRQSC), and the Language and Literacy Researchers of Canada (LLRC). Her research on aesthetic meaning-making and reading reception was ranked 1st out of all provincial applications in 2014.

Nathalie Lacelle, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)

Nathalie Lacelle, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at the Department of language and literacy pedagogy of the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM). A founding member of the research group in multimodal literacy (LITMEDMOD), her research focuses on the development of technological and multimodal competencies by integrating traditional literacies such as reading, writing, and oral language communication through in- and out-of-school contexts (SSHRC, 2010-2013; SSHRC, 2013-2016). She also specializes in the curriculum development of multiple narrative languages (FRQSC, 2013-2016). Co-editor of the book La littératie médiatique multimodale (or Multimodal Literacy, 2012), she sits on the editorial board of Language and Literacy and is internationally published in journals like GlobeAlsic, RepèresLettre, the AIRDF journal, and Mémoire du livre.

Published

2017-07-26

How to Cite

Lemieux, A., & Lacelle, N. (2017). Mobilizing students’ interpretive resources: A novel take on subjective response in the literature classroom. Language and Literacy, 18(3), 50–68. https://doi.org/10.20360/G2C591

Issue

Section

Articles