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The Contributionsof Louise RosenblattLegacy of Louise Rosenblatt Louise Rosenblatt’s influence on the field of Rhetoric and Composition studies is practically immeasurable.
Undoubtedly, she is an icon. Often referred to as a pioneer, her first publication was in 1938 (Literature as Exploration), and she continued to publish (57 works to be exact) on a consistent basis, with her last book, Making Meaning with Texts: Selected Essays, arriving literally days before her death at the age of 100 in 2005. Her critical theories regarding the role of the reader and the text are not only widely accepted but also well-established teaching approaches used in classrooms across the nation. Although Rosenblatt received her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature studies, she dedicated her life to teaching literature and refining her transactional theory. Rosenblatt chose the Sorbonne for her graduate studies in Comparative Literature and was very interested in
the anthropological elements within literature. Her dissertation (written in 1931) L’Idée de l’art por l’art dans la literature anglais pendant la période victorienne, which was later published in 1976, would serve as the foundation for her later transactional theory between the reader and the text. In this work, Rosenblatt analyzes the ideas behind art for art’s sake. Despite a perceived distant divide between text and reader, she asserts that readers do participate in the meaning-making of texts, and an environment should be provided that encourages this active participation. Rosenblatt’s ground-breaking book, Literature as Exploration, was so influential it was revised and
released four more times: 1965, 1968, 1976, 1995. This work refined Rosenblatt’s theory of the role of the reader, and she would continue to expand upon the theory in the rest of her writings. Drawing heavily from John Dewey, she refers to the event that occurs between a reader and a text as a transaction, a give and take from both sides. Going directly against the grain of the New Critics, she insists that readers bring to the text a unique set of experiences, which might include gender, culture, socioeconomic status, life experiences, etc. The reader’s background plays a major role in how he or she might interpret a piece of literature. In particular, student readers need to be provided with a safe and open classroom environment in order to have the freedom to express their unique perspectives about a text. Necessarily, instructors must resist subscribing only to the traditional, authoritative interpretations that critics proclaim to be the single truth. Doling out meaning of texts to students in no way promotes critical thinking or evaluation of literature. Teachers should encourage their students to find personal connections to texts. Rosenblatt also addresses the perceived dilemma between efferent and aesthetic reading. Contemporary
critics have a tendency to value one type of reading over the other, but this hierarchical placement is a mistake. In her many books and articles, Rosenblatt definitively illustrates how these two types of reading are interrelated; in fact, they are inseparable. Both types of reading are valuable and consist of different, not contradictory, elements. For example, a student may read a poem by Shakespeare specifically to focus on the emotional elements of the text, making personal connections to it on a human or cultural level. A second reading, focusing on the textual elements, would allow the reader to study stylistic and formatting conventions. Both reading events would offer the reader equally important perspectives about the same work, and both types of reading offer the reader a valuable experience. Rosenblatt’s contributions encompass more than just her publications. Her official teaching career
begins as early as 1929 at Barnard College and spans through 1972; however, she continued to teach as an adjunct and guest lecturer well past her retirement at four different institutions. She was generous and gracious with her time, submitting to numerous interviews by colleagues and students interested in her theories, to include a question and answer doctoral seminar with University of Miami graduate students. She remained active and involved in the academic community up until her passing. The academic journal Voices from the Middle dedicated an entire issue to Louise Rosenblatt in March 2005, complete with articles heralding her theories and accomplishments. Rosenblatt’s awards and accomplishments offer no short list. Her legacy includes a Guggenheim fellowship,
as well as appointments in advising the Department of Education. NCTE awarded her with the Distinguished Lecturer and Service awards. Her book Literature as Exploration was named as one of the Ten Indispensable Books on Literature by the Department of Education, and she was elected into the International Reading Hall of Fame. These accomplishments are just a handful of Louise Rosenblatt’s mark on the academic world. In his “Tribute to Louise,” Edmund J. Farrell comments on the loss: “the profession of English has lost one of its strongest voices on behalf of an enlightened citizenry, one educated to understand, value, and uphold democratic ideals. Central to Louise’s belief system was the sanctity of the individual, the right of each human being to make independent social and aesthetic judgments” (68). Works Cited Farrell, Edmund J. “A Tribute to Louise.” Voices from the Middle. 12.3 (Mar 2005): 68. |