No one disputes the fact that Stephen King is an overwhelmingly popular author. What is disputed is the quality of his work.

In the bookstores, it's categorized as "fiction" or "horror," and many people dismiss it as trash.

But scholars and fans alike have decided King's work is contemporary literature, and the time has come for it to be recognized. With the surprising shift in content of King's last two books, this may finally be happening.

The books, Gerald's Game and Dolores Claiborne, have female narrators and embody many topics common to feminist themes, such as child molestation, wife beating and psychological oppression.

"It's been more a gradual evolution than a kind of sudden turnaround," Matthew Bradley, Viking senior publicist, said about King's change in topics.

He added that distinguishing between the two books and King's other works assumes that they are totally different, but he believes they are not.

James Smith, professor of American studies and English, has written papers and taught classes and seminars on King's work. He said there is a difference between the newer books and King's previous ones.

"(The female perspective) is a radical departure from anything he's done before," Smith said, adding that King usually uses a male-protagonist point of view.

Criticism about his usually male-dominated books and some dissatisfaction with his portrayal of women may be reasons behind King's different approach to these stories, Smith said.

"King had taken some criticism early on in his career for presenting overwhelmingly male-oriented sensibilities in his literature," Smith said. "As an artist, he would respond by challenging himself and pushing the envelope of his creativity further. He is using this, consciously or unconsciously as a way to tell critics, 'Hey, I'm doing something very different now.' He's not a one-note Charlie. I respect him for the attempt."

Smith and Leonard Mustazza, also a professor of American studies and English, twice team-taught a class on King at the Ogontz Campus. The class was American Studies 105 -- Pop Culture and Folk Life -- using King's books and movies as the sole material.

They also taught two one-night seminars on the fiction and films of Stephen King as part of the Ogontz campus seminar series, and one seminar on the re-released version of The Stand for Ogontz's books and review seminar series.

Not only are there classes taught about King, but in the late '70s, King himself taught creative writing and a course on horror novels and films at his alma mater, the University of Maine.

"He just wanted to get a feel for what it would be like to teach," said Burton Hatlen, professor of English at the University of Maine.

Mustazza put King's work in a category with Edgar Allan Poe and other literary figures that wrote in the tradition of the grotesque and the ghost story. That type of literature has a long tradition in American and English literature, Mustazza said.

King himself puts his work in this reference by frequently referring to lines from Poe, Mustazza added.

Some of King's works also contain classic tragic elements, Mustazza said. Pet Sematary is a good example of a character with a flaw that leads to tragedy. Lewis Creed's tragic vision is his inability to accept what is not scientifically provable, he said.

Bradley said he believes King's work is more than just pulp.

"I think he's reached a point where he's starting to be taken seriously more than just as a horror writer," he said.

Bernadette Myers, assistant manager at B Dalton Bookseller in the Nittany Mall, said it is hard to tell if King's two newest books have sold as well as his others.

"He's a popular author, and if you have someone who's a Stephen King fan, they're going to buy his books when they come out -- period," she said.

Brian Stoll (freshman-chemical engineering) said he believes any one of King's works is a good example of modern fiction as literature.

"It's not just blood and guts," said Chris Gricar (freshman-architectural engineering).

Gricar and Stoll both said King is one of their favorite writers.