Winning Words Lesson Guide (Adults) Winnning Words Lesson Plan Guide | Page 11

Interpretive Community? Whuz dah?
It’s an approach to interpreting the meaning of a text as a group, developed
by Stanley Fish (1980). The model proposes that the interpretation of a
literature text is not governed by the person who wrote the text, but by the
group or “community” of readers who read the text. Stanley Fish’s (1980)
interpretive community theory is a branch of reader-response theory. In other
words, it moves from an individual response to literature to a group response
to literature. Within the framework of interpretive community, members of a
group or “community” of readers will use their prior knowledge to interpret or
to extract meaning from the text.
The Meat of the Matter
Finally, the insides of this story are out in the open. Alternative sexual lifestyles
(GLBT lifestyles) are among the most controversial lifestyles in societies around the
world. Within Caribbean societies, personal and social reactions to these lifestyles
are extremely volatile. This is especially true as it relates to homosexuality. Think of
the ways in which Caribbean people express their views/opinions on homosexuality
and why they resort to those ways. Think of those Caribbean societies which are the
most tolerant and the least tolerant of alternative lifestyles such as homosexuality.
Consider the newspaper headlines to the right.
Trinidad and Tobago judge
rules homophobic laws
unconstitutional
LGBT activists file challenge
of Barbados’ anti-gay laws
Jamaica: Unchecked
Homophobic Violence