discussion that gives students the opportunity to reflect upon and analyzethe nature of their own responses, as well as to consider the similaritiesand differences of their respective reading experiences.In general, my students indicated that they had either limited or noprevious exposure to romance novels. However, as a result of powerful,widely-held cultural attitudes, they inevitably approached the task of read-ing a romance novel deeply influenced by prevalent social discourses.These discourses guide the way in which they think and feel about theassignment—starting with the practical issue of being seen purchasing thebook to the way they react to the book’s content.I want now to elaborate further the ways in which popular discoursesenter into the entire process: the social anxieties surrounding the romancenovel as well as the reactions to the text itself. All the student readersapproached the situation with multiple expectations, which reflect widerpopulardiscourses.Nearlyallstudentshadawealthofideaswhosegenesisone student described as “the greater culture has played a role in formingmy opinion.” In other words, they had absorbed a series of ideas withoutparticular awareness of them until this activity called them into play

 RESPONSESAnalyse

s of student papers in my class produced over the last severalyears, demonstrate how students react to the concept of reading a romancenovel, how they approach the task, and what their responses are to thetexts themselves. Early on, it became apparent that it was necessary totry and unfold the layers of assumptions that guided readers from theinception of the assignment. As soon as students became aware of whatlay before them, their conceptions of the meaning of the task came into play.I try to capture the responses as students are told about the assignment,what it is like for them to go into a store and be identified as a reader ofromance novels, and how comfortable they are with friends and familyknowing they are reading a romance. It is in these acts and the behaviorsthat accompany them that they are able to identify and label their ownassumptions. The responses fall into several distinguishable categories thatreveal how students view the books, their evaluation of the readers ofromances, and the status of romances within the culture.The readers described here are both graduate and undergraduate stu-dents inWomen and Psychologyseminars at a small Catholic liberal artscollege for women. For most, this was an initial exposure to women’sstudies and thus the first time they were called on to think about thestatus of women in the culture. They found the assignment of reading