Date of Award

Spring 4-22-2016

Document Type

Honors Project

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

English, Linguistics, and Communication

First Advisor

Lorentzen, Eric

Major or Concentration

English

Abstract

The field of cultural studies is one that has received much academic attention. However, a vast majority of the research applies to higher education and college, with occasional forays into foreign teaching and writing classes. The idea of cultural studies teaching as it applies to secondary education is almost completely unexplored, especially the ways in which it can be placed into practice. The lack of study in this field is a serious problem due to the positive effects cultural studies can have on the critical thinking skills of students. Keeping cultural studies locked behind the gate of higher education keeps a large section of the population from the chance to develop those skills, and more should be done to push cultural studies into earlier schooling with a student-centered curriculum. The following article takes two stances-- first, the value of cultural studies as it applies to teaching in middle and high school and the reasons to do so. After a discussion on the values of cultural studies, an analysis will be done into implementing the study using the example text of Jane Eyre with the purpose of giving teachers an idea of how to implement cultural studies into their classrooms through literature.

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