For Whom?

In collecting these short stories, my target audience has been juniors and seniors in high school and intro college courses. The material lends itself well to these age groups. In this era of blogs and twitter feeds, it’s all good and well to assign War and Peace, but if more than half of the intended audience reaches for Cliff Notes, then what is gained? Short stories stand a chance – especially when they have a good story line and succeed in shaking the readers up a bit. They are worth “liking” and forwarding to e-pals with digital media, no less than some of the newest YouTube clips. 

This web site has many uses. It can be useful for any course that wishes to talk about moral and political problems. There is your standard “Ethics” course. But I also have in mind high school courses on character formation and civic education, or college courses on contemporary social issues. Or it can also be an alternative way to teach literature. Some may wish to stick to the short stories and drop the articles. Some may use the articles and drop the short stories. All is perfectly fine to me—there are many roads to walk. 

Elder hostels, salons, or groups working with underprivileged populations such as refugees and prisoners may find the site of use in discussing literature or social issues. There is a broad collection of disparate material here and there is a lot to discuss.