Gertrude Stein studied psychology at Radcliffe with William James and went on to train as a medical doctor before coming out as a lesbian and moving to Paris, where she collected contemporary art and wrote poetry, novels, essays, and libretti. A trail-blazing modernist, she was attacked by more than one generation of critics and has influenced more than one generation of writers.

Part 1 of this volume, ""Materials,"" provides information and resources that will help teachers and students begin their study of Stein. The essays of part 2, ""Approaches,"" introduce major topics to be covered in the classroom: race, gender, feminism, sexuality, narrative form, cubism in literature and art, writers during World War II, and Stein's experimentation with genre in an unusually wide range of contexts.