Blog: Current
Issues Review
To understand current issues in writing, we need to look at
the conversations taking place among scholars in academic journals and consider
how these new conversations will ultimately affect our understanding of writing
itself.
Therefore, for this assignment, you
are asked to select one article from one current issue of a composition studies
journal to summarize and review for its contributions to the study of
writing. The assignment requires the following:
·
Choose one of the journals listed below
·
Select an article from a recent issue of that journal
·
Read and summarize the article’s main argument(s)
·
Argue why this article is important
·
Explain how this conversation is useful
You should draw on the language and
concepts about the different approaches to writing we’ve covered so far.
Journals in Composition Studies: College
Composition and Communication, College English, Composition
Studies, Computers and Composition, JAC: A
Journal of Composition Theory
NOTE: Most of the journals are available through online
databases at the Auraria Library website.
Post a response: November 14th
Respond to other (3) posts: November 28th
Length: There is no page length, but sometimes it
will not allow long extended post, so, if you have issues, you may have to
enter two separate posts.
MLA Format/Documentation
In, "The Place of Creative Writing in Composition Studies," Douglas Hesse examines the current perception of creative writing within composition studies. He suggests that right now creative writing exists, in comparison to what is considered more "serious" writing, as second class within English Departments.
ReplyDeleteHesse also considers how creative writing is seen separate from the rhetorical argument. He argues that creative writing has a place in rhetoric studies because the rhetorical situation in creative writing surrounds arguments developed by the development of images and the creation of characters. He says that, in a creative writing text, even though there may not be a "full-frontal assault of an argument," (19) that there is still more value in creative writing surrounding composition studies than is currently acknowledged. For example, the ability to use creative writing to capture the reader's attention as well as the intricate process regarding character and plot development, or the manipulation of form, must be considered as part of a rhetorical situation and the study of which would then be relevant to composition studies.
Hesse also discusses the stereotypes surrounding creative writing one of which is that it is dismissed as simple and purely expressivist. Hesse suggests that when discussing creative writing, generalized statements are frequently made such as, "a tool for shaping personal and professional identities" (9). Hesse observes that some professionals believe that the personal aspects of creative writing are beneficial while others do not support it and therefore, consider it as an emotional, self-therapy type of writing. Another stereotype surrounding creative writing is that it is not functional but merely aesthetic. In response to this, Hesse argues that the aestheticism of creative writing is just as valuable as the formal argument of any other text. He also argues that the personal quality of creative writing is beneficial in that we all have a need to be heard and agrees that creative writing is in fact a medium of personal expression. However, Hesse establishes that this does not make it “simple,” or less valuable, to the field of composition studies.
Hesse also acknowledges the need to be published as a factor in the stereotypical attitude toward creative writing as being without function. He argues that it’s easier to publish and also have more readers of academic or non-fiction writing:genres that are labeled as more “functional.” Hesse argues that this is why many authors that do have a degree, or experience in creative writing, will shy away from it and toward the more “serious” writing. Hesse determines that this is because they believe they have a better chance of being published and rely on their work to make money.
Technology is another influence Hesse considers. He discusses the multimodality of the future and how creative writing, much like most writing, is a social activity. He observes that because the internet provides an opportunity for a writer to express themselves, and to have an audience, that creative writing techniques would be appropriate. He also discusses how creative writing is included in other departments as a kind of orphan. Hesse argues that creative writing deserves a separation from the other English studies but, at the same time, for there to be collaboration between all departments because much can be gained by undertaking a serious study of creative writing and how it can be useful in regard to rhetoric. Continued. . .
Review
ReplyDeleteThis article is helpful in that it covers a topic which, Hesse suggests, is not commonly written about in relation to composition studies and rhetoric. It is true that creative writing is often regarded as a self exploring, or expressivist, type of genre as well as one that is purely aesthetic. This article specifically addresses how creative writing still contains a rhetorical situation that instead of involving a formal argument, develops an argument in other ways such as through images and development of characters among other things.
For teachers of both composition, and creative writing, this article is helpful in that it points out the stereotypes and division that sometimes occurs between the two departments. The solution Hesse describes not only intricately explores the benefits of analyzing creative writing in relation to rhetoric, but also the possibility that the “fun” nature of creative writing can interest students who otherwise might not appreciate writing for all that it offers as a social activity and a medium for self expression.
Hesse encourages all writers to consider the possibilities of creative writing as functional in that aesthetic qualities can contribute to the rhetorical situation. The topic of creative writing as a social activity relates it to socialism and discourse communities. Hesse also talks about the intricate process of considering elements of form in creative writing and this connects creative writing to formalism. Creative writing can be expressivist, but as Hesse suggests, it is important not to assume then that it has no contribution other than as an activity of self exploration. By studying and experiencing the process of developing a creative writing text, all writers can expand their knowledge and effectiveness in communication by considering creative writing as relevant to composition and rhetoric studies.
I have read many stories and novels that have changed my viewpoint or persuaded me to think about a situation differently. Without creative writing, there would be many things that I would not know about, or even begin to be able to have an opinion on. I think that creative writing can, and does present an argument and can be a really good way to introduce new ideas to people. The fact that creative writing is also engaging, by being expressive and asthetic, supports the idea that it has value acedemically. We need to be able to make connections to what we are reading. If "serious" writing was the only writing we studied, imagine how boring everyone would be.
DeleteI emphatically agree with the author and your summary of his statements. Coincidentally, my term paper addresses this very idea of rhetoric within creative writing. Yes, it does function as a cathartic expression, at least initially, before the composition is reviewed and revised. More importantly, I consider rhetoric to be like an undercurrent in that various notions can be illuminated through a creative piece and linked together by intrinsic values. I think the idea of denouncing creative writing as lacking in substance is severely shortsighted because it only considers the prose for its single instance, when in fact, the singular piece may be a valuable contribution at a later time. From my personal experiences, I think that I have plenty of initial attempts at writing that are marginal on the surface, yet contain a hefty essence of considerable information. I also agree with Leila's thoughts on this matter, in that creative writing is an excellent introduction to many different perspectives on life.
DeleteAgree with “the ability to use creative writing to capture the reader’s attention as well as the intricate process regarding character and plot development, or the manipulation of form,” hell ya! I’d rather read a palatable argument than hear a robotic monotone voice in my head.
Delete“…some professionals believe… [creative writing is a] self-therapy type of writing.” Ouch! That hurts Inner Little Jody. There, there little girl… there is nothing wrong with journaling. Emotion and sensation can be combined with intellectualism; in fact, I find the combination quite effective and more persuasive…I can see Aristotle adjusting his robe and nodding at me; saying, “Την εκπαίδευση του νου χωρίς εκπαίδευση της καρδιάς είναι καθόλου παιδεία.” Of course, I’d have to peck that Greek nugget of wisdom into Google Translate to discover that Aristotle was saying, “Educating the mind without education of the heart is no education.”
I am surprised that some consider creative writing not worthy enough to be studied and not considered relevant to the studies of composition and rhetoric. It seems logical to me. Certainly there is room at the table. By integrating creative writing, academic papers could become a more “rich and expressive process instead of just some product to crap out into a professor’s hands,” (I read Alessandra’s response too). There is a way to use our creative writing skills when writing an academic paper, a bit a reveal and a bit of holding back. An art, I suppose, but couldn't that be taught as well?
i feel this article has tapped into the historical context of creative literature. stemming from an academic world, we see that most "story" you could get out of a text was usually an allergory or something more historical in thought. when the novel first came out, it was seen as trash, and the novel (as well as everything creative that followed it) has been fighting for a proper place among the academia, philosophical and historical works.
DeleteKarl Bozeman
(cont'd)
ReplyDeleteWhile Johnson’s article certainly presents a wonderful comparison and theoretical shadowbox of what could be used to encourage first-year composition students, there are still many contingencies such as personal investment and power structures that need to be addressed before any real practical application could be pursued. As a gamer, I know firsthand how powerfully useful these gaming spaces can be both for myself as a “citizen” of these communities and as a force of change. If this influence could be applied to new writers in the classroom, what might result may not be restricted to just good grades and better writing, but instead may include some much more powerful voices that feel a driving exigency to be heard.
WORKS CITED:
Bergensten, Jens. "Also big thanks to @DrZhark, the creator of Mo' Creatures, that have assisted us to make it happen!" Twitter, 4 April 2013.
Johnson, Matthew S.S. "Public Writing in Gaming Spaces." Computers and Composition (2008): 270-283.
Tassi, Paul. "Mass Effect 3's Extended Cut - Too Little, Far Too Late." 6 June 2012. Forbes. 13 November 2014 .
Delete(You know what? Blogger apparently hates me. To read the full, non-erased version, copy-paste the link below.)
Deletehttp://mirai-lostatsea.blogspot.com/2014/11/blog-entry-for-eng-3510.html
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete(FUUUUUUU....here's my introduction sentence that clearly didn't copy-paste V__V My sincerest apologies for the mess... u_u)
DeleteLet's discuss Matthew S.S. Johnson's article addressing composition environments titled "Public Writing in Gaming Spaces."
#2
ReplyDeleteJohnson stresses these responses by explaining that in these gaming communities, players don’t just provide feedback to complete the objective of the game but rather to improve the game, thus instituting the “change” as desired by Weisser (272). Theoretically, without the gamers’ feedback, the developers would not make certain improvements to their games, and thus nothing would ever progress. One of the more recent places in which this sort of “exchange-induced change” has occurred is within the game Minecraft. In its 1.6 update, named the “Horse Update,” the Mojang developers added horses to their game. These horses were originally part of a modification pack, or “mod” pack, that was developed by a user named DrZhark (Bergensten). Without the input from DrZhark, Mojang might not have included horses into Minecraft, or the horses may have had a different design entirely. Another example more akin to writing is in the gaming community of Mass Effect. This trilogy game, which ended in 2012, failed to appeal to its fans’ desires for a proper ending. The backlash from the game’s players was so intense that the developers released an “extended cut” that solved many of the plot-holes and foul feelings left by its original ending (Tassi).
What Johnson’s presentation really addresses is the purpose of writing in composition classes and why it’s important. Compare the first-year composition class to a gaming space. In the class, students are dissimilar; they are foreign to one another and see their teacher as a person of power rather than a fellow consultant. In the gaming space and particularly online, everyone is of the same class and rank, even between the gamers and the developers. Everyone shares the same interest, namely the game to which they are contributing. In a writing class, students write for the grade; in the gaming space, individuals write for many purposes, such as solving problems, offering suggestions, and seeking information. Granted, an online forum is not considered an academic environment; yet I agree with Weisser’s concerns that students fail to see any exigency to write other than for a grade. What would happen to a first-year composition class if the purpose to write was to evoke change? What would happen if the student knew what he or she submitted as writing would change something within the teacher or within the school? What if writing had a direct cause-and-effect reaction? In gaming spaces, a user develops an incredibly effective method for swiftly winning a Real-Time Strategy (RTS) game, and posts this information on an RTS forum; other gamers see this and use this method, and suddenly the balance of victories in games shifts in the favor of those using the strategy, while developers see this and hurriedly seek to rectify the sudden overpowered strategy. The result is nearly instantaneous.
#3
ReplyDeleteGaming spaces aside, the notion of utilizing protopublic environments in which only interested parties join a singular discourse community to focus on rhetorical writing is both highly ideal and practical. Imagining the usage of this within a first-year composition course could be compared to my personal experience as a freshman at the University of Denver. Freshman were required to sign up for a First-Year Seminar; these classes were writing intensive, and the topics of the courses were rather random and typically did not focus towards minors or majors. Instead, they focused on interests; the class that I took was a Geisha Studies course. Ideally, every student that signed up for the Geisha Studies course had more of an interest in that than in one of the other offered First-Year Seminars, such as the CSI course that they offered that same year. The university sought to create protopublic environments for new students, in order to get their writing and discussions to, at the very least, share one singular nugget of similar interest. Sadly, my own experience seemed to be an utter failure in creating any sort of discourse community, but on paper the idea seems sound. I personally feel that a sense of passion, and not just remote interest, is required for a protopublic environment to work to its full potential. For example, it’s not the “casual” gamers that you find on online websites and communities but rather the gamers that are invested in the game that they play. Thus, it could be assumed that invested writers would seek out and partake in protopublic environments more readily than casual writers.
The fact that many students fail to see the exigency to write, other than for a grade, should be the gasoline to ignite the fire under their lazy bums. Be careful not to get too comfortable folks! What the hell are we in school for? To be told what we should know or do we want to own our knowledge and become part of the learning process? I worry that I walk amongst the dead on campus—urrggg A’s! Must get A’s, urrggg hungry for A’s… Or on the flip side, there are those who just want to pass, having no passion, no desire to achieve—just stumbling along with the herd.
DeleteMaybe the next question is: Can passion be taught or nurtured in the classroom, or are teachers stuck with remotely interested students?
@Jody: Well, if you think about it on a real grand scale, people used to learn and study in order to become a master of their craft or subject. Trades and skills were singular; you usually dedicated your life to one particular subject. Now, because we've grown into a culture that can handle a lot of information with much greater speed than we ever could, we're expected--nay, required--to know many things. And because that knowledge determines our livelihood, we must be the best at it. As, perhaps, many creative writers can understand, passion gets shoved aside because survival (i.e. being the best at the knowledge you gain so that you can win the rat race) is more important. I DO believe that passion can be nurtured or inspired in a classroom, even possibly under high-stress situations. And I believe it should be nurtured. But it's hard to get people to partake when they have to shell out cash for class. I personally think that teachers, instead of keeping a tight grip on the metaphorical leash, should use their classrooms as safe space for students to explore their own capabilities. Give students that space, and they'll be more inclined to stretch themselves out and maybe think outside of their cramped little grade-oriented boxes.
DeleteAn English Teacher's Eulogy
ReplyDeleteI read the article by Kathleen Sheerin DeVore, published in the College Composition and Communication journal, the September 2013 issue, entitled "Just like Steve: One writing teachers well- lived life." This article was short and simple, which after a semester of very long, mostly boring texts (No offense Dr. Rivas!) I appreciated this fact the most about the article! However, I feel that the points raised during this touching account of a teacher's life before his death in December of 2011, is imperative to our classroom discussions, since we have at great length discussed the influential teachers from our education experience, and those that simply, as the article titles, are "policing student error." The author of this article argues that her friend Steve Kaufmann, was not only inspiring to his students but also to fellow teachers, herself included. She states that he considered himself a facilitator to students, to direct them in widening their audience, embracing a purpose, and aiding them in finding their voice. Which we have also discussed voice and audience preference in this class at great length. She claims he was a legend among colleagues, as they challenged their own patience and commitment while working this man. He also encouraged them as teachers to understand the burdens of their students and have flexibility in their dealings with them. DeVore, also notes that the greatest aspect about Kaufmann, and his 25 years as a teacher in Community colleges around Boston and Minneapolis, was that his main focus was the classroom. He had little concern with his own research or work, and choose to focus his efforts on students. He guided them through their first college courses and continued to aide them in their academic writings into their majors. I realize that this article might be considered a bit trivial, or even silly among the discourse community, as it does not discuss the very heavy content of theory that has been reviewed thus far in our classroom. But, I would like to make the point that it does make a nod to the Formalist view, we have often expressed a distaste for in the realm of academia. The author was very clear, that while this man lived the others around him sought to be more patient and less harsh with their students. And dare I say, we might appreciate, as students, to have someone of that kind of influence roaming the halls of Metro State?
I thought this was interesting because we have talked a lot about the teacher’s role in the classroom especially in relation to formalism. When thinking of a teacher that has greatly influenced my life I am reminded of my language and composition teacher from high school. I would actually consider her in many ways a formalist because she focused a lot on what is appropriate in academic writing and had high regard for correct grammar. However, the way that she taught us was in no way condescending or insulting to our own identity as writers. She genuinely cared about our development as writers not just in marking what was formally incorrect, correct, but in guiding us in the same way the professor in your article did. I will always remember and benefit from the time she spent helping us to create arguments and also to analyze audience. I think that we would all be much better off if teachers all cared as much about the development of students as writers as they do about what is correct or incorrect.
DeleteWell I posted a reply and it didn't post on here for some reason, so here is another (p.s. be careful when posting replies, I had to re-open the page in order to reply to a second blog):
DeleteI really think that this would be an interesting article if it included a few of these teacher's methods within the classroom. My favorite quote from your response about this article is, "to direct them in widening their audience, embracing a purpose, and aiding them in finding their voice." Could you imagine if all college courses held this objective in the classroom? Yes, I mean all. Imagine math and science made us think about the audiences we would be doing this work for, helped us embrace a real world purpose for our work and let us find a voice within that purpose. I am pretty sure that I would be more intrinsically motivated to work harder on assignments. This teacher found a way of teaching that makes the students the focus of the classroom rather than the professor. And in response to your question, yes I would appreciate (more then one) someone (professors) of the kind of influence roaming the halls at Metro State.
Lisa- no she didn't really post any of his methods (unfortunately!) But I really liked that other teachers around him wanted to be better- to be more like this person. I would like to imagine if we all had someone in our profession that was so good they made us want to be better!
DeleteKayla- I like that you remembered your teacher. I think there is always that 1 that makes us better students, and later people. Mine was years ago at Metro, she just asked all the right questions, to help you organize your thoughts enough to write amazingly well. Just talking students through, I wrote my best work for her in that way.
Thanks for the comments ladies!
I didn't think this was silly at all. In fact, having an instructor that is legendary because of their effectiveness at teaching is what this is all about. Composition theory has largely been about how to instruct students and by which methods work best. Clearly this man had an ace up his sleeve, so the fact that there were no methods recalled in the text is poignant, to say the least. Of course, it would be helpful to know what he was doing and if it could be replicated, but that may be besides the point. The fact that an article was written in concise, comprehensive language that can be understood by all, about a man that is effective at teaching students is really what all of the heady language contained in our text book is about.
DeleteIt is brilliant the direction that learning is going. While we are by no means there, I think steps are being taken to ask the questions that need to be asked. I think teachers can go a long ways in helping their students embrace the learning. But to me this seems to go back to the idea of passionate people sharing their passion. Teachers should be passionate about learning and helping their students drive. Unfortunately examples like that of the great teacher who honestly desires to see those around him succeed are few and far between. But it is not to say that they cannot exist, and after all it seems like these discussions we have been involved in are all to inform us as writers, as teachers, and just as people.
DeleteWe have been discussing code switching and identity in our class the last couple of weeks, so I decided to read an article that discusses these issues. The article grabbed my attention because the title, "Nah, We Straight": An Argument Against Code Switching, was resonant of a dialect that I do not use. Indeed, the article was written to specifically address the use of Englishes other than the standard. Not to say that my own English is necessarily "the standard", but the subject is very interesting to me. In the article, our author, Vershawn Ashanti Young argues that the use of code switching is a veiled form of racism. He proposes the use of code meshing instead, stating that it is better to embrace the different types of Englishes. He uses A. Suresh Canagarajah's , The Place of World Englishes in Composition: Pluralization Continued, to help illustrate his point. Code switching, according to Young, perpetuates segregation in that it forces non-standard English speaking students to present themselves as something that they are not. By forcing kids to learn to use a different language, it denies them their true identity and causes a double life for them. He points out that the idea of "standard English" comes from the priveliged upper-middle, white class, and that even they do not always use it, and that it is forgiven more easily when an "error" in grammar or usage is committed by a person from that social community. Young uses a lot of examples from texts we have read in our class this semester. To illustrate his point about forgiveness, he cites Joseph William's, "The Phenomenology of Error", and asks the reader to consider William's argument that we overlook errors when we are not looking for them. He says that educators-perhaps unwittingly- that use code switching will find more errors to correct with a non-standard English speaking students simply because they are looking for it. He talks a lot about President Obama, and how he is in a bad place because of his rhetoric. Obama is either shunned because he is too whitewashed, or he is too black. The quote "Nah, we straight", came directly from the President's mouth when at a diner. This was a long article. There is too much to discuss in this small space. I recommend it highly. I really enjoyed reading it, and it left me to ponder the way we view different Englishes, and the way we treat them in the classroom. As a future educator, I want to be able to support my students and let them use their own Englishes, but my concern is that the idea of code-meshing is not "the standard", and that allowing them that freedom could be harmful to their future successes. This subject is so important because if we as a society wish to ever get beyond our perceived differences, we have to truly be inclusive by letting people express themselves.
ReplyDeleteCode switching and blending into different discourse communities is an interesting thing. Many people don't even realize that they are doing such a thing, particularly when speaking. I think there might be a bit more consciousness when writing, but that could be examined. What stood out to me about your selection of articles here is Young's comment about code switching causing segregation. While his example certainly appears to set a particular standard for ESL learners, well...I see code switching as a bridge rather than a fence. Yes, asking non-native English speakers to learn to speak English or asking a black man to speak more like a white man erases some of their true identity. However, consider code switching as a tool rather than a mandate. Let's consider a native Spanish speaker. That Spanish speaker already code switches even before they learn how to speak English: they will speak differently in a formal setting, in a school setting, in a casual setting, etc. Code switching doesn't just apply to moving back and forth between languages; it's moving back and forth between a choice of lexicon. And the way I see it, being able to understand multitudes of lexicons allows an individual to enter far more discourse communities that a person restricted to a singular lexicon. The problem that I think Young is trying to express regarding segregation is when you have ESL learners being taught English by an individual that doesn't speak their native language. It's a one-way road, and yes, the demand is suddenly that English is the "better" language. But as he says, being able to code switch and understand from both ends allows for further perfection of both lexicons--eliminating the error from both sides, if you will.
DeleteI feel that the unspoken problem that comes up most often with all of these different nuanced conversations about dialect and code switching is that people are failing to realize except that words are just the medium of that. As long as you can clearly convey your message in a meaningful way while keeping it respectful and maintaining a level of authority it shouldn’t matter what dialect you’re using. As somebody who is also going to be educated or to think my stance on it will be keep it insightful, keep it honest, and keep it relevant. Beyond that I don’t know that I have a right to tell somebody how they should or should not be speaking. But I don’t think that it’s inherently racist, but I could definitely see how it could be used as a platform to keep people oppressed. To me that’s more of a human rights issue than a racial issue.
DeleteI agree that code switching and code meshing is a positive way of connecting; with not just students but other so called individuals that are not well versed in various dialects. But, there is language attitude and the fear of using another dialect outside of one’s own community. If you have someone that is talking one dialect and then switching over to another there is the chance of that person being accused of betraying their community. Also, there is the fear of being ostracized and being seen as traitor to that community. Unfortunately, there will always be a dominant dialect and the need to code switch. People inside particular communities sometimes will receive unneeded backlash because of their dialect that does not fit the more dominant dialect. I say talk how you talk and if someone can’t handle that then they need to bounce. If you can convey your message in a manner that is understood regardless of your dialect, switching or meshing then you have done well in your discourse
DeleteYoung, Vershawn Ashanti. '"Nah, We Straight": An Argument Against Code Switching. "Association of Teachers of Advanced Composition (U.S.). JAC: A Journal of Composition Theory, Volume 29, Numbers 1 & 2, 2009. UNT Digital Library. http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc268410/. Accessed November 13, 2014.
ReplyDeletePART 1
ReplyDeleteSo, I too read the article "The Place of Creative Writing in Composition Studies" by Douglas Hesse. What Hesse is really trying to get across in this article is that composing of any kind can be creative; that creative writing can benefit from composition studies and visa-versa. Hesse begins his argument by distinguishing creative writing from composition studies as it stands in academia today.
Creative writing is a field of writing that has largely been a stand-alone genre. Meaning, we don't see a lot of crossover between creative writing and other disciplines like science, math, sociology, etc. This is partly the fault of creative writers and CW professors; CW has never been too interested in scholarly research or empirical studies. As Hesse says creative writers trust, "instead authors' own accounts, in memoir, essay, or interview, as far more valuable than anything in the guise of 'scholarly article'"(32). Creative writers value CW because of its artistry. Composition studies, on the other hand, values form, research, lack of personal style, and formality. A way to judge good academic writing is if it can crossover between disciplines. Composition is focused on a product while writing (if I knew how to make things italicized in a blog comment, I would have italicized the word writing there) is focused on the process.
Unfortunately for composition studies, students are usually more excited about taking a creative writing course than they are to take a first year composition course. Part of the reason for the disdain that composition studies professors have for creative writing is, "envy (well placed or not of teaching eager students in courses whose outcomes are never denigrated by colleagues across the academy (no one asks, 'why can't students coming from your course develop even a single character?')"(33).
So how can we make composition studies more interesting for students? Hesse thinks we should integrate elements from creative writing. He admits that the field of writing, specifically comp studies, has moved away from, "the imaginative and toward argument, civic discourse, academic genres, and rhetorical moves"(37). Hesse thinks that we should view all composition as creative composition. CW allows for people to develop personalities and find modes of expression that seem valuable to the human experience. Academic writing generally intimidates students . To many comp studies students, academic writing seems more like an obligation and less like something they actually want to do.
Hesse also argues that teaching expressive writing in the first year comp classroom can provide students with the tools to effectively critique ideologies and create real change in their own lives (39). Instead of teaching prescriptivist and formalist approaches to writing, we should teach writing as a form of expression that can be transferred between many different situations.
Writing is a discipline that has techniques, skills, and styles that can be taught, learned, and honed. We do a disservice to students when we focus only on one form of writing (especially a form of writing that is only applicable to the small world of academia). When students care about what they are writing and feel engaged with the content and the process, they will take the necessary steps to create a good piece of writing.
PART 2
ReplyDeleteI think this article is both fascinating and so valuable. People take creative writing classes because they want to (generally speaking). People take first year composition classes because they have to. At least in my experience, students are more comfortable in a CW course; they can write what they want, they can write shitty first drafts, they can bounce ideas off of each other in workshops, they can express themselves, and they can develop has human beings by engaging with writing as a process.
This article is highly expressivist. Hesse is adamant about finding ways to integrate the personal voice into academic writing. Not only that, but finding ways to make academic writing an engaging process that has meaning (another word I would have italicized) for students. If there is a way to get students to want to compose and to see the value in a class like freshman comp, then why wouldn't we try it out? College comp has largely been dominated by formalist theory: there is a specific way to write and there really isn't any room for creativity or expression. Professors and theorists have created a box around academic writing and continually shove students into the box and force them to think a specific way and produce, produce, produce. Hesse argues that writers should be teaching composition, and not theorists. I pretty much agree with this. Having theorists teach composition/writing is like having music critics teach someone how to play an instrument; someone may have an understanding of the theory, but if they aren't a writer they shouldn't be allowed to teach other people how to be writers.
Creative writing can offer valuable insight to the narrow world of first year composition studies. Why wouldn't we want students to engage with every text they write? Why wouldn't we want students to see writing as a rich and expressive process instead of just some product to crap out into a professor's hands?
Hesse, Douglas. "The Place of Creative Writing in Composition Studies." College
Composition and Communication. 62.1 (2010): 31-52. Web. 12 Nov. 2014.
I also read this article and I agree with you that it is valuable both for teachers and writers. Creative writing is a way to make students feel like they are having more fun. I like how you emphasized that creative writing should apply to all disciplines. I agree that creative writing for many people is less intimidating. I’ve only taken one creative writing class and it was in high school. Many people in my class had told me that they didn’t like writing but that this class was a way for them to be able to write something “fun.” As a writer, I personally do not use many creative writing examples in my own writing specifically academic. I think this is bad because there are so many possibilities for using creative writing in academia. Creative writing itself is powerfully complex. I think most people dismiss creative writing, as Hesse points out, as something purely aesthetic when there is much more to it.
DeleteI agree, creative writing gives a student the ability to write without feeling the pressure to be "perfect". From personal experience, my love of writing was born through my first creative project in second grade. This also relates to my article in that mine was about getting students to just write and be ok with what they come up with.. The best way to make that happen is through creative writing,
DeleteFrom Screen to Text: Video Composing in the Writing Classroom
ReplyDeleteMegan Adams of Bowling Green State University makes an argument in her intro video showing a magic marker writing on a white board, hands over the keyboard of a laptop computer leads to classrooms full of students in front of more computers. Reading the text that accompanies her videos, Adams argues there is a failure in classrooms to allow students the tools to move past pitfalls and blind alleyways in the writing process. A writing student she argues would suffer from wandering off topic, lack the language needed to communicate, or stymied by their own self monitor in getting coherent thoughts on the page. The beginning stages of the writing process are considered vital to Adams. She claims in order to engage more with the material a student wants to write about, using a multimodal project during the beginning stages of their projects would help the student cement their arguments and lend cohesiveness to the overall writing assignment.
She assigned her advanced placement students a written essay that included audio visual elements for a one minute public service announcement. In fulfilling the requirements of adding text to the video and voiced dialogue into the work, the students were encouraged to take risks. Adams monitored for improved grades in relation to the components of their research papers. A written reflection of how they used the tolls and what rhetorical choices they made as they composed the project served to illuminate how much time each student spent on each stage of their project. Symbolic action is held up as a visual way to express metaphor. Adams argues "that conventional modes of writing and speech are not always the preferred mode of communication of he students in modern American classrooms." Digital storytelling includes multimedia texts from outside classrooms. Students who made these videos were left with a clearer idea of their arguments and wrote papers that earned them similar grades. Less students in the survey had trouble composing their thoughts and putting the work together.
Work Cited:
Adams, Megan. "From Screen to Text: Video Composing in the Writing Classroom." Bgs.edu. 1 Mar. 2014. Web. 14 Nov. 2014. .
I think becoming familiar with technology is important because of the evolving world and the demands by society are causing students to become technologically literate as well as textually literate. I think introducing students to multimodal communication is important because it causes the students to use multiple parts of their brains, causing them to have a greater level of critical thinking. Making students incorporate multiple types of media helps the target audience become wider and could possibly lead to greater though-provoking discussion. Do you think this article is important in a college classroom as well? Even published authors? I think the evolution of book trailers has caused authors to create a paradigm shift. What do you think?
DeleteWe have had a few class discussions on the use of technology in the classroom. I think this article adds interesting info to the topic, as the teacher here studied this in her own classroom. I especially like that they concluded with how students had a better understanding of their thoughts and work. The idea that most people learn in different ways is important, since most of us are visual learners, or at the very least a combination of learning strategies help most students. I think that Dan you are a theater major? I would have to say that the idea of a video is probably not scary for you, but someone like myself might be more intimidated. I do think that her thoughts on giving students tools to help them from getting stuck is good advice for most teachers. I also like that as a teacher she acknowledges what students struggle with most, usually the beginning stages of writing. I know for myself to just get started on a paper is usually the hardest part. And that she also notes that some students prefer to express themselves differently, as in videos.
DeleteI am on the fence about this one. I dislike the idea of incorporating technology into my writing practices. In fact, if I could compose all of my papers and such using pen and ink, I would do so immediately. I just like the organic feel of this method, and I would rather have no need to interface with a machine for hours on end, as there are many side effects that I care less for.
DeleteOn the other hand, writing via computer is much quicker. Also, incorporating technology into academia makes for savvy and elite media presentations. There is no use in fighting the trend, so I suppose that being proficient with technology is in everyone's best interests to compete with each other. It is also good to broaden one's skills and interests within this field because one thing inevitably leads to another and familiarity will often lend a fluency to acquiring relative skill sets.
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DeleteIt’s difficult to go wrong in this age of digital natives by including multimedia in learning. The assignments that draw me in more than anything else are the ones where I get to include more than just text. I made a short movie for one class as a trailer for a novel and I spent significantly more time on that one project than any other project for that same class because it didn’t feel like work and I was happier with my final project too. But doing projects like this takes a lot more effort on the teachers part because you do have to provide those tools to make sure that the student succeed. In my Application of Educational Technology class, I constantly watched the teacher struggle with students who just don’t understand the (to the majority of the students) fairly clear directions that are being given to them regarding different projects. Depending on each student’s comfortability with technology and with that mode of communication they might turn out to be people who will be unable to produce the same quality of content with the same resources. By dragging somebody out of their comfort zone are you making them better or are you just being pushing unreasonable expectations when it comes to diversifying their skills? I’m not sure how far we should go, but I think it’s up to the next generation to set those limitations for us. Just my 2¢.
DeleteUnwelcome Stories, Identity Matters, and Strategies for Engaging in Cross-Boundary Discourses
ReplyDeleteThe article that I chose to read came from the journal, College English. "Unwelcome Stories, Identity Matters, and Strategies for Engaging in Cross-Boundary Discourses" by David Wallace argues that too often we are scared and unsure of how to respond to stories that give victimized individuals voices and reveal the social injustices within the dominant culture. Curriculum, both in the secondary and higher education systems, fail to integrate stories from the minorities of society because these stories expose the privilege of male gender and middle-class academic scholarship. Wallace provides an example of such a story from Lynn Bloom, offering that the “we” pronoun becomes a crucial part of the interpretation of her female voice. He acknowledges that he is listening and suggests that the “we” could simply be referring to him and his male counterparts. Wallace claims that unwelcome stories “are crucial because they can play an important role in exposing our individual and collective complicity in the ongoing systems of oppression and discrimination that marginalize many groups in our culture” (Wallace, 547). The society as a collective whole needs stories that disturb and provoke because it allows that society to shift the paradigm of thinking in which we operate.
Wallace provides an anecdote to suggest that identity should matter in these stories, by admitting that he is openly gay. After one of his students bashed homosexuals in his/her paper, Wallace commented that the student needs to be more considerate of the audience, especially if that audience was a gay or lesbian one. Wallace’s point couldn’t have been clearer: identity matters. His article then makes a paradigm shift; he offers ways to engage in cross-boundary discourses. Wallace reads articles from three African-American authors, from a queer view, and depicts their challenging of the Caucasian discourse- one that dominated the academic community for too long. Wallace’s main point for engaging in cross-boundary discourse is engaging in responsible cross-boundary discourse requires reciprocal dialogue in our personal, professional, and pedagogical discourse.
As there has been a debate in our class about the identity of authors and what that means to the understanding of the composition as a whole, this article and conversation proves to be of vital importance. Identity truly does matter in the development of an argument because it is important to see the breadth of composers and what their experiences offer to the conversation of academic scholarship. Too often discourse communities are scared to respond to articles that challenge the privilege of the white male and therefore it causes our conversations to be hushed and shallow. Race, sexuality, socioeconomic status and level of intelligence can contribute to the understanding of a writer and their exigency for wanting to publish the piece in the first place. Wallace, making the audience fully aware that his sexuality does indeed matter, wants to decompose the walls of traditional discourses and encourage folks from all walks of life to engage in critical discussions.
Wallace, David. "Unwelcome Stories, Identity Matters, and Strategies for Engaging in Cross-Boundary Discourses." College English 76.6 (2014): 545-561. Auraria Library. Web. 14 Nov. 2014.
I thought this article sounded extremely interesting. I agree with you that identity does matter. This is abundantly clear in the story that was shared that you describe. As a literature major, using the identity of the author to analyze a text is an interesting way to understand any text. I think identity is among a combination of things to consider when analyzing text but it certainly is important. I think this is true, as you addressed, in relation to audience analysis. Identity surrounding those the author is writing to, as well as the author themselves, inform how a piece is written or why the author makes certain choices to communicate a message in a certain way. I think it’s absolutely true that text regarding subjects that make an audience uncomfortable or disturbed are vital because it shifts the way we think about many societal constructs.
DeleteI know in class we have talked about author identity and how it matters or doesn't matter. I like his naming of "unwelcome stories" but without reading the article I don't know what point he trying to make. Unwelcome stories are what makes millions upon millions of dollars in the box office. That privileged population spends that money to hear and see stories of people's struggles different from their own. Other people's stories are the most interesting stories. I don't know if Wallace's point was entirely from an academic text standpoint. I know certain text are still banned in schools for the material being deemed inappropriate but all students have to do is log online or turn on the television and everything is all about those disturbing and provoking stories. It makes me nervous as a writer that people would want to know what my economic background is, what my race is, religion or whatever else. Especially when it comes to fiction, none of that should matter, a good writer can write about experiences they have never had. Academically, it should matter because if I was going to try and teach someone something I would want them to know my background so they knew where I was coming from and why my opinion, information and voice matters. It just worries me, that in this day and age, people wouldn’t care about my information because of my race or sexual orientation, that I wouldn’t be able to relate to them or teach them unless I lived the exact same life they have.
DeleteIdentity is and will always matter but your words should have power. If you words do not stand and strike with meaning then your identity will not have weight. If you depend on your identity to give you strength more power to you but I would rather see words that ring out. James Baldwin was known for his writing not his sexuality.
Delete"Finding the Metaphor" by Lisa Lebduska is a personal story where Lebduska reflects on two different encounters. One being when she is college and asked to write a paper of "Getting Here". She did now know how to begin and being very literal starts to think about how she got the library, going to this college, etc.The second encounter is her as a professor when she runs into a foreign exchange student. Trying to figure out where he wants to and needs to go Lebduska struggles with the idea of being a wanderer. It is not until the end that she makes the connection that "we are not stars... we are wanderers".
ReplyDeleteThe title of the piece is called "Finding the Metaphor", it is one big metaphor for the way we write. If we try to be super literal about our writing we can miss some really great things. Lebduska was very literal and missed the point of the assignment, Her professor just wanted her to write and whatever came out was how she "got there". Compared to her second experience where she realized the beauty and the greatness of just being a wanderer.
This article is important and relevant because as writers we tend to try to create pieces from a formula. We know that by having a certain layout we can get a certain grade. This article is encouraging us to embrace a more creative approach to writing and letting our minds wander.
I just finished reading Kayla and Alessandra's responses and their shared article could tie into your article. Interesting your author took her college assignment as a literal exercise and had difficulty letting her mind wander. Oh god, there is that cheesy motivational quote, "not all those who wander are lost." Despite me rolling my eyes, it is true in the sense that "wandering" is not necessarily a bad thing. It can lead to new ways of thinking or seeing. Perhaps a new word? Maybe not. To wander is to stray off the well-beaten path. Like you suggest, if we teach by formula we will create and receive formulaic papers. If we want to "find the metaphor" and make a deeper connection, then we should let our minds wander and see what we discover.
DeleteYes I read their articles and made the connection as well. That is super cheesy and I rolled my eyes too haha. Either way I think there needs to be more freedom when it comes to writing.
DeleteI appreciate most forms of writing, like music I try to keep an open mind. Shakespeare is like jewels in the mouth, Milton forces you to think but Bukowski is just honest.
DeleteAmanda Gailey, Teaching Attentive Reading and Motivated Writing through Digital Editing
ReplyDeleteAmanda Gailey argues that TEI (text encoding initiative) is a valuable indispensible tool to help teach literature. TEI helps students to have a more focused attention to the detail and analysis of a text, that will give the student a clearer and greater sense when writing. Also, providing for a better audience and leaving them with more technical skill. The first benefit is to “attentive reading”: the student can “cherry pick” evidence from the text, basically leading them to have a more organized way of finding and analyzing textual evidence. The student can “divide the text into equal segments and encode their portions”, giving a more focused and “critical lens” and they can customize their findings. Secondly, there is “discovery and empowerment”: The student can go beyond the abstract analysis and discover historical evidence and notions and misconceptions they might have previously about the text. The “discovery and empowerment” can help the student with revision while they are discovering that leads to a greater confidence in promoting a fresher perspective on the text. Finally there is “writing with a purpose and for an audience”: The student will find new topics from the analysis they have made instead of stressing over page requirements and “racking their brains for something to say”, their work has meaning. Also, TEI helps the student to become more “motivated and purposeful” giving them a “familiarity” with the text and the written work, making them more confident.
From what I have read and what little I know (basically not much) about TEI or DE (digital editing)… seems like a very beneficial tool for textual analysis and having a greater grasp of whatever you are reading and then analyzing. I imagine this is a great tool for exploring complex novels and subjects but keep in mind TEI takes time: you have to either scan every page from a text or transcribe it word for word. Another problem that I saw, is you have to have working knowledge of HTML, XML and a savvy understanding of encoding language; learning that language will take you an entire semester to learn. Let’s not forget with the pricey software, you have to have a computer that can handle all the memory that is going to overwhelm your computer. Take note, I’m not a computer guy, so don’t get made if I’m my tech talk is wrong.
Now, if you get all the geek stuff out of the way and you can rock it, I feel this is a tool that will help benefit students of English. From what I read and understood you can organize and quickly navigate through the text; easily finding textual evidence that is beneficial to your thoughts when organize your paper, giving it a more organized and structured feel that is clear. But, first you have to go through the land of technical fire to achieve this goal. This is just another way that we as students of English have to evolve and except that technology is pushing literature and analysis in this direction. It started with oral tradition and cuneiform then onto the printing press now it’s digitizing the written word. In the future, can or will we say written word or will it just be thought? Maybe we’ll all just be one big global hive that’s connected wirelessly and we just pull up text that is in our thought pattern and we have a collective discourse that we all agree upon like ants and honey bees. Now that scares me: I think I’ll stick with the old fashioned method of reading a text that is tangible and use the computer in my skull that God gave me.
Amanda Gailey. "Teaching Attentive Reading and Motivated Writing through Digital Editing." CEA Critic 76.2 (2014): 191-199. Project MUSE. Web. 14 Nov. 2014. .
I think that this method could be very useful. We talked in class about different learning styles, and this method seems to include most. Is this a method that is done soley by the student, or is there discussion and interaction with the class? It should definitely be combined with hands-on and auditory presentations to be effective.I too, am very not tech saavy, so it is interesting to hear (or read) about new approaches to teaching using technology, but I'm with you on the machine overlord/borg thing.
DeleteHolly Hassel and Joanne Baird Giordano in Occupy Writing Studies: Rethinking College Composition for the Needs of the Teaching Majority explore the under-valued phenomenon of community-college or however you would like to call two-year open admission non degree seeking institutions. As a whole, they see community college lacking entirely from important composition conversations. For instance, in many studies looking at first year composition students, two-year institutions are excluded. Therefore, they’re missing almost half of all college students. Which is where the marginalizing begins!
ReplyDeleteThey break down their argument by offering two versions of institutions. Version number one has an open admission, meaning they accept anyone with the minimum requirements. Version number two, is schools that require additional criteria and reject applicants. On average community colleges spend $12,957 per full-time student, where four-year version two institutions spend around $66,744 per student. Who can pay for these services and scholarship opportunities are a huge part of this conversation, which often turns into an unfortunate reflection of class.
More than anything, they use these points to drive home how few resources go towards community colleges, despite their importance. Hassel and Giordano see community colleges receiving crucial information about composition theory, yet few opportunities to explore them fully. One of the biggest issues with how little support goes to this institution, is how vital they are to students on the fringe. They, in large part, are teaching the disadvantaged how to compose, if they so choose. They say that two-year colleges are “the most common faculty experience in teaching english.” In that way, two-year colleges have a tremendous job.
Through various research the authors get a general sense of the reasons students go to two-year colleges and where their biggest areas of struggle come from. The researched students show an extreme range between ACT scores, 5 and 35, and students who speak barely any English to proficient, literate speakers. The class divide becomes more apparent with more research. They see that the higher a child’s parent makes a year, the more likely they are to have a four-year degree by the age of 24. The odds get less and less likely for parents making $35,000 and under.
Which then brings them to the questions, of what’s the point then of community colleges? They could serve as a tremendous tool to families for generations, yet little support goes to sustaining them. For some, a harsher reality seems more evident, “community colleges serve as a sort of holding pen for students with low academic ability, and that ‘while some students of low promise are successful, for large numbers failure is inevitable and structured,’ and that ultimately such a student has ‘been allowed to become involved but [his or her] destiny is to fail’.” A negative, but unfortunately true statement.
ReplyDeleteThe authors though are hopeful and very clear with what they want, “postsecondary writing teachers need a more effective and extensive body of scholarship that offers research-based best practices that are relevant to the daily work that they do”. Through research and attention, community colleges can be transformed to meet the needs that they seemingly do now. Pedagogical strategies can be explored and perfected to meet the range of students requirements.
For me, this conversation is incredibly important because it pertains to who can compose. Socioeconomic status and high-school standards are what prepares or does not prepare students for college. This article heavily emphasizes a much lost, in my opinion, area of crucial conversation. Despite feeling widely supportive of their cause, I was under impressed with their presentation. They were definitely writing for the discourse community, which ultimately has the most influence and are a needed ally in this conversation, but for me it was too loquacious. I, unfortunately, often strayed from the page with glassy eyes. Some sentences were entirely over-complicated, and others were filled with more Engfish than one could stand.
Such is the manner of this context, but I was hoping for something with more voice and character from this journal. I would be interested to see the overlap between finding voice and community-colleges. For compelling practices of composition I would think creative writing might be one of the best tools for initial engaging. I was wanting these kinds of conversations during this article. Less why it’s important and more how to make it important, besides more funding of course.
The next step of this article would be what I would sink my teeth into most. What pedagogical strategies will be researched to find best practice. One of my favorite quotes from the article mentioned the practice of composition needing continual reflection and adaptation. That to me sums up most of the topics in our class, conversation about composition is just as important as composition itself. Because without conversation, sneaky forces like diminished community-college will continue to work their magic.
http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/CCC/0651-sep2013/CCC0651Occupy.pdf
As a graduate from Community College of Aurora, I thought that your article (or the way that you presented it) was super interesting. I was surprised to read that "community colleges serve as a sort of holding pen for students with low academic ability." Now I can understand why people that have not experienced community colleges look at the colleges in this way. For me community college was a cheaper opportunity with smaller classrooms for me to thrive and build confidence as a student. In my English course at CCA my professor challenged us to think for ourselves. We went from expressivist form to a more rhetorical approach to writing. I do not feel as though I was missing out on something that students at other colleges were getting, if anything I learned more from being in such a diverse classroom. I was able to see a range of discourse communities in one classroom. Maybe I am getting a little defensive about the education I received, but I feel as though my foundational education at CCA was valuable and readied me for further success in college classes. I agree that this conversation is important. I think it would have been interesting to hear about specific community colleges and what they are implementing in the classroom.
DeleteIt is interesting to consider community colleges in this manner. If they exist for the sole purpose of maintaining social striation then I would say they are doing that very well. I think that we have a tendency to look at education systems and try to assess whether or not they are working. It would be easy to look at the American university system and propose that they are not working. But I would argue that it is working exactly as intended. Since we are trying to implement education in a corporate money making fashion then the issue becomes how to sell, not how to educate.It is a shame that education is hurt because of greed, but unfortunately that is the system we exist in.
DeleteIn "Class Affects, Classroom Affections: Working through the Paradoxes of Strategic Empathy," in the College English Journal, Julie Lindquist analyzes how teachers can “perform emotional engagements that students find authentic and valuable within scenes of literary instruction” (Lindquist 188). Lindquist discusses middle-class students and how their experience as middle-class can be used in the classroom to enrich their learning. The difference between teachers using surface acting or deep acting can transform the classroom culture for students. Lindquist uncovers the power behind learning from students “to motivate and constrain their own emotional responses” (Lindquist 207).
ReplyDeleteThe question proposed states, “If critical inquiry can’t supply mechanisms for uncovering truths about social structures, power, and class identity, then what resources are available to teachers in this effort?” (Lindquist 188). She goes onto explain how social structures and identity formation are important understandings for middle-class students; especially since their process of acquiring academic literacy involves “mediations between past experience and hopes for the future” (Lindquist 188). Teachers must pull popular culture into writing instruction by bringing in the “rituals of everyday life.” This type of teaching “might position them to enjoy more control of their lives… as more empowered workers” (Lindquist 190). Class is a state a relational awareness.
The teacher role is critical in this process of engaging the student, they must direct their attention to how they create their own persona in the classroom. Lindquist quotes Sullivan, “What if we thought of the literacies and knowledges our students already have, when they come to us, as having the potential to teach us?” (Lindquist 195). Teachers must be willing to set their own emotions aside and listen to their students in order to figure out how to serve them best; the teacher must move into deep acting (opening yourself to the possibility that you might persuade yourself that the emotions you are presenting are real). Lindquist suggests, “Teachers must listen even when they are not interested… in expectation that such attentiveness will become genuine concern” (201). Students need a “measured, mediated honesty” from the teacher so that their voices can be heard and they can then be engaged through their middle-class discourse.
Lindquist concludes the article with a call to action for teachers “to create the kind of environment of trust that allows emotions to be something other than commodities or distractions” (206). Teachers need to listen and learn from their students in order to recognize how they can create a comfortable class culture.
This article addresses important perceptions of classroom culture that I had never thought about before. As a future teacher I see this article as helpful in my journey to becoming a teacher to students of many different discourse communities and lower middle class. Too often teachers blame students for their misunderstandings when they should be putting the blame upon themselves. Teachers have “to be committed enough to the pedagogy of their students to relinquish their public commitments when the occasion demands” (Lindquist 204).
ReplyDeleteOn the topic of composition studies I didn’t find this article very helpful. Lindquist focuses on the discussion of the classroom and not so much the writing process. However, I believe that if students are engaged in the discussion then they can also be engaged with topics related to their discussion topics. This process of allowing students to learn in their discourse will intrinsically motivate them to apply these topics to their own lives. Building connections for students to their real world, “What matters is not just what we ask students to produce, but also how we engage with the products of their labors” (Lindquist 195). This article would be important for future teachers to read and think about, but is not applicable to composition studies, in my opinion.
This conversation could be useful for an expressivist. Lindquist focuses on how discourse communities can affect the classroom culture and identity formation. And expressivists would be interested in the cultural background of the students and their experience in the world. This focus is the main idea throughout the entire article; allowing students to express themselves through their own voice based on experiences in class, social structures, and identity formation.
Lindquist, Julie. "Class Affects, Classroom Affections: Working though the paradoxes of Strategic Empathy." College English 67.2 (2004) 187-209. Auraria Library. Web. 12 Nov. 2014.
Lisa- Does she offer some ways in which to help students take those experiences and write better using them? I think when we discussed the topic of expressivists in class we thought although this is a good idea to start where do you take the student from this? The idea is wonderful to create an intrinsic motivation for students but I think a lot of teachers struggle with then moving them to the next step and aiding them toward a final product.Also, the idea of formalist must then be added as ways to "clean up" their work, right? Students would need some sort of training on how to help take their experiences and use them to write a piece they might be able to use for say a class or assignment. Glad to see that as a possible teacher you are already considering ideas to help students!
DeleteI think this article is key in terms of backward design and thinking about real world applications to help students engage with the material they are exploring. I think intrinsic motivation is the hardest thing for teachers to grapple with, especially when we are working for urban environments. I think we need to have a base to start somewhere- similarly to formulas in math- and help them by branching out into different writing methods, in order to have a cohesive argument. At the end of the day, we need to be able to understand what students are saying and there is something to be said about proper formalist structures, especially if we expect the students to write at a college level by college. I have often heard English 1010 professors complaining about the level of writing that these students are able to produce, no matter what their social background is.
DeleteDeana,
DeleteThere are not really any answers to your questions, although I think all of them are relevant to the conversation Lindquist is a part of. So, I am going to attempt to answer your questions from my experience in the classroom, as a teach and a student. I think that if students are able to embrace that part of themselves and experience it through writing, they are on their way to better writing. From the expressivist point I think the next step would be structuring that writing into an essay that flows and has a specific topic. For instance, I think the next step after a personal essay would be the research essay on a topic that is relevant in the students lives. From there we could work on editing both pieces for the students to recognize common mistakes they are making (I think a one on one walk through with the student about their writing would be most helpful). Thanks for your comments!
Chelsea,
Interesting that you bring up the formalist view and its importance, because I agree to an extent as well. I still think that it should be taught, but I don't think that it should be the focus. In my Analyzing English course we are discussing point brought up from Other People's English, it discusses why we labeled SAE (Standard American English) as the "correct" use of english rather than AAE (African American English) or any other Englishes used. I found it very interesting because it was hard for me to see a different kind of English and actually expect classrooms to make these Englishes a part of the classroom culture. As a future teacher, I don't see where I would have the time to even teach anything extra. However I can see how it would be helpful for students to realize that their English isn't "incorrect," but rather "inappropriate" for an education setting.
First off, I am glad these articles are being written and that there are teachers out there that really care enough to put this research into application. Maybe it was just how my schools were but there was definitely almost no diversity in any of my schools economically or otherwise so this topic wasn't really something that seemed to apply to me or my peers. We have talked a lot about discourse communities and I worry that if teachers start teaching to each student as an individual whose background matters, that limits that student to have to stay within that identity. If students only embrace themselves and their personal experiences I think that restrains them, it's a good starting point however. I agree that we can't tell anyone their way of speaking or writing is incorrect but these students need any opportunity they can get to advance in how the real world needs them to preform. I have also never met a teacher that had the time or cared enough to focus on my personal voice. Unless I was being disruptive (which ended after I was maybe 8) no one paid attention to anything I had to say. It's all great in theory though.
DeleteComposition at the Turn of the Twenty First Century - Richard Fulkerson.
ReplyDeleteIn this article, Fulkerson argues that composition studies are evolving from a unified, rhetorically oriented discipline, into what now includes a predominance of cultural writing that is buoyed by expressive approaches and a division of rhetoric. Genre analysis, argumentation, and preparation for discourse communities comprise the divide within the rhetorical disciplines.
Twenty five years ago there was a consensus amongst the Composition Titans about where to proceed with composition studies, though not how. This meant that by all means, a stay with the rhetorically predominant theory was to be at the forefront with an acknowledgement and adaption of “pedagogical diversity.” In other words, they had a good thing going with the rhetoric discipline but as emerging social trends arose, there would be synthesis of these interests as well. No one could have predicted that there would be an overwhelming breakout of various interests, many of which conflicted with others diametrically. A noted shift in emphasis from product to process occurred and this brought further issues to the table. There were now at least twice as many writing pedagogies for instructors to focus on, causing a bigger chasm within the mission to adequately identify the best approach to composition theory.
Is there now dissention in the ranks? Some professors of epistemological process may not agree with pedagogical or rhetorical processes, and then they may all share some or entirely each others’ views. It has all become so convoluted from the standpoint of a singular order.
The problem lies with the fact that someone or some entity insists on creating a singular theory or process for dissemination of composition studies, but in reality, it is humans who are engaging in a very human thing. The process of writing is done with the fingers, each of which has its own singularly unique fingerprint, yet they want somehow for everybody to wear the same gloves.
This article is important in the sense that it elaborately details what a daunting task it is to make a decision about the direction that composition studies should take. It outlines all of the current and major pedagogies and presents them with their pros and cons and how they fit into the larger scheme of the discourse community. In this sense, the article has been immensely helpful in bringing clarity and cohesion to an increasingly, expanding field of study. It is actually a pretty good map of current and modern composition theories.
However, it also highlights the palpable insanity behind the task of insisting on defining a singular theory or process of the dissemination of composition theory. As Fulkerson notes, the more prevalent the inclusion of socially oriented discourse becomes, the more there is a division between teaching writing and teaching the proper lens by which to view the materials their students are writing about. One inevitably gets lost to the other, unless of course you have perfect students. The entirety of this debate will never ever end, because it cannot by its very nature. Am I wrong to perceive a fierce academic competition by writing scholars? I do not insinuate that this conversation lacks for interesting and intellectual considerations, because certainly there are excellent points to deliberate on. But at what point does the collective of arguments realize that the struggle for superiority will only ever be a contemporary victory. Will there not inevitably arise, some faction of human interest that drives yet more inclusions of varying perceptions and perspectives to widen yet again, the already expanding disciplines?
College Composition and Communication,
DeleteVol. 56, No. 4 (Jun., 2005), pp. 654-687
http://www.jstor.org/stable/30037890
Mike,
DeleteI really enjoyed reading your review. Not just because of its context, but how you wrote it. There are many poetic moments, such as - writing as human fingerprint that shouldn't be hindered by a generic glove. I very much agree with your perspective on streamlining the writing process as an insane task driven by competition. It was a bit challenging to get a sense of what was the article's points and what were yours, but it sounded like for the most part you and the article agreed. I think you ask some important questions at the end that would give some academics a lot of free time if they were to apply it.
Yes...I too have found the variety of composition theories to be a game of sovereignty. I believe there is not one exclusive composition theory to be taught. Yes, we should understand the forefathers (and fore-mothers) of composition theory, but we should also be embracing the evolution--standing on the shoulders of giants and building upon their theories...
DeleteThis article stimulated my mind and got me excited about the idea of writing a new way. I have a feeling that it will be one of those articles that I go back and read a few more times over the next couple of years. Anybody who is planning to be an author or journalist no matter the focus should probably give this article read because it talks about the changing landscape of our industry. It is important because it speaks to the very nature of how writing and media has changed, is changing, and is going to change. In this article Koehler spends much of the article going over what text is in his eyes, how it’s changing, and the ways the new media are influencing the crafting of books and other forms of writing.
ReplyDeleteHe talks about a book that was written so it looks like parts of it had hyperlinks. Koehler talks about a book that had a musical album written in a way that connected it to the book. The connection is an interesting one as the album talks about the book and the book talks references the album and its lyrics, making it meta-textual. So in a certain respect you would be going through and discovery both the album and the book in a kind of parallel journey. In the following quote he’s talking about a transmedia project called Inanimate Alice “how a writer crafts that narrative will require the skillful deployment of particular technologies that provide sensory immersion. Digital environments provide immersive multi-modality and worlding features that are dependent on an affective ambient world of integrated sound, image, and text, each of which require integrated as well as independent theorization” (Koehler). Basically saying that text will no longer just be text, they will be a combination of world building much in the way of a creative genesis and architectural planning, which will require so much more organization and forethought to be put into what you’re creating than ever before.
All of our future works according to Koehler will be multimedia in some way shape or form. To a certain degree it is already happening take Harry Potter, even it now has an “online university” that people can apply to so that they can go to online Hogwarts. Granted, this isn’t something that JK Rowling had planned from the beginning, but maybe it will be according to Koehler something that will happen regularly in the future as something that’s planned from the beginning. What Koehler really wants to do, according to this article, is built upon what already exists with composition studies, literary studies, and new media studies and take them to their next logical conclusion by changing the way that we see our texts. I couldn’t agree with his points more because anybody who is going to be an author needs to understand that just like the music industry the medium is changing and if you want to be a part of it, there has to be more to it than just the same old thing. The first really successful book that gets made using multimedia technology is going to change the entire landscape. It hasn’t happened yet, but sometime in the very near future. I have a feeling this is going to happen and then traditional publishing just won’t be enough anymore. This article from my point of view is almost the definition of New Rhetoricians, due to its interest in a new and fresh approach to the writing process that will be require authors to have a logical, well formatted approach. There is a level of conceptual awareness that will have to be present in all writing. Making it up as you go along or discovering your process as you get there almost certainly won’t work very well with the new style on the horizon. I was personally really excited about this article and I hope I’ve interested you enough to go check it out for yourself (because you totally should)!
Work Cited
DeleteKoehler, Adam. "Digitizing Craft: Creative Writing Studies and New Media: A Proposal." College English Vol. 75.No. 4 (2013): 379-97. National Council of Teachers of English. National Council of Teachers of English. Web. 12 Nov. 2014. .
P.S. What I just found highly aggravating was that I had a bunch of hyperlinks inside of my text, but blogger for some reason doesn’t seem to think that hyperlinks are an important part of blog posts or responses. So I’ve included a couple of the hyperlinks below.
http://www.hogwartsishere.com/
http://www.inanimatealice.com/
Constructing a text these days has become a process greater than anyone could have ever imagined. Visual literacy and digital literacy have both emerged as field all their own and require a different set of skills as opposed to interpreting text on the page. I would agree with both his and your point that authors are going to be thinking about multimedia at the earliest stages of development. The world we currently live in is such a visual place, full of images and ways to engage readers on another level. I personally have visited the virtual Hogwarts that J.K. Rowling created and was impressed with the the amount of detail needed to create such an intricate website, that builds off of readers' experiences with the story, as well as providing new bits of information. As a future writer, do you imagine that the printed version of text will disappear completely and that the digitalized word will remain supreme? I think books are still appreciated, but at what point could/would they be obsolete?
DeleteWhen I read this post, I immediately thought of the Dark Side of the Moon/The Wizard of Oz (movie) phenomenon. I think that it is really important to be able to incorporate different mediums into presenting and understanding ideas. I don't think it is a brand new concept but it is gaining ground. There are many extensions and adaptations of ideas into other forms out there. The way the world is going with our imagery/audio saturated culture leads me to believe that people will lose interest if not constantly given a new way of looking at and experiencing things. Me? I'm old fashioned. I don't even own a television. I like to read books made of paper.
DeleteAhh, meta-media. Anime and Western comics have embraced meta-media…just look at how much Marvel is doing right now with its movies and shows (I mean, they're re-writing the Civil War arc to fit with the Marvel movie universe, for goodness' sake!). Digital media has breathed life and possibility into something I think all novel readers have experienced--post-novel blues. That feeling you get when you finish a book and wish the story wasn't over? Post-novel blues. But now, your story doesn't have to be over! I think it's brilliant. We already see the hyperlink connectivity in webpages that we visit today; it's not so absurd to thin that we'll see that commonly in written text. And indeed, we do! My Enterpreneurial Business Plan class's textbook includes web addresses within paragraphs of text as though it were just another written definition. Technology has made things bigger, more expansive, and I believe that we are evolving into creatures that can handle, well…instead of going through a book in a linear fashion, from A to B, I think we can certainly handle join from A, diverting to E and G to check on something interesting we read at B, and so on. After all, isn't that how teachers want us to analyze reading material as it is? Make the connections as you go? Meta-media and media connectivity makes those connections instantly!
DeleteSo I read this article too, my response doesn't seem to want to post on here. I wasn't as enthusiastic about the article as you were but I see where your excitement is stemming from. Part of me definitely says stick with books made of good old paper and part of me would be completely excited to participate in the books adventure myself. This is already being done with video games, according to the Netflix documentary I watched (I have never played a video game) the players can pick from different scenarios and change how their game experience plays out. Koehler didn't have the space to really go into detail about the amazing advances possible with digital text, I thought he focused more on creative writing. I do find it fascinating that we are finding so many ways to interact with students in different digital ways. I was surprised to see him bring up Twitter and I really can't wait to see how digital learning transforms. I am a little worried that it will lead into some information overload. I hyperlink all articles published online because you don't have to site your sources or waste words, it's a quick: click this if you want to learn more. I find myself not finishing a lot of writing though because my train of thought wanders back to each link and clicking on the next one and the next one. There is so much material out there I hope writers don't get lost all together.
DeleteAccess is something that we have spoken on in great length, and it is a conversation that is doing a lot to drive discussions across the board. There is a tremendous amount of focus put, albeit recently, into equalizing the availability of material. Creating a Culture of Access in Composition Studies, written as a collaboration between Elizabeth Brewer, Cynthia L. Self, and Melanie Yergeau, delves into the idea of access in an interesting way. The paper, which is only a couple pages long, breaks down access into several categories; cultural, socioeconomic, as well as technologically.
ReplyDeleteCulturally the access of composition studies is something that we have talked about in class. Whether it be race, class, gender, or any other social minority there is a distinction made in the availability of material. The paper calls for a change by asking for, “change radical enough to rewrite the rules supporting a particular arrangement of culture” (Creating a Culture, 1) they say that this move would disable the design of cultural/institutional space.
Socioeconomic falls, in many ways, under the same category as social minorities. It is the age old argument of those who have, and those who do not. It is interesting that this gap has been approached recently (and I am speaking in terms of human development as whole) people are more literate today than at any point in our history. But of course there is still a long ways to go towards truly equal access for all.
The final point they make was one of technological accessibility, and for me this was one of the more interesting points because it was approaching the discussion from a different angle. The discussion shifted to one where they were interested in how multimedia text was made available. The main approach they discuss is through formatting, but this removes the need for strictly textual access to composition studies. It broadens the field of composition to include audio, as well as visual rhetoric.
I think this is an important discussion because it centers on many of the problems we have addressed in class. But most importantly because it calls composition studies and the access thereof, to take on a role that we have since divorced ourselves from. The idea of oratory as a form of rhetoric, that spoken word and visual representation can be powerful tools for composition is something that needs to continue to be explored. This brings to mind the early pieces we read about the development of English as a study, and the way our modern English departments were formed. In those early days oratory was closely linked to the study of composition and it is interesting to see that we are headed back in that direction.
Also I find it interesting that composition studies could someday take on such a broad facet. If we were to include audio and visual information to enrich texts then it might cause a much wider range of accessibility to those who would typically have no interest, or option in the first place. Of course this skirts a fine line between reducing the power of the written word alone. But that is a bridge we will have to cross at a later date. For now we must focus on the discussion at hand.
I think this article would have been a great addition to the ones we read in class surrounding this topic. As a future teacher of urban schools, I know that I will need to recognize the gap of accessibility between my students in the classroom as well as between other schools. However, I was a little confused by your last paragraph, maybe you were just responding to one specific part, but is the article about equal accessibility to technology or making technology accessible to all learners?
DeleteI think that auditory information could at times be a really essential inclusion into this field of study. It certainly would be helpful to students with physical and learning disabilities, thus expanding the circle of who can truly be involved in this discourse. For instance, I was recently reviewing a woman's composition which was written terribly. She revealed to me that she was dyslexic and did not like to read because it hurt and was frustrating. The thing is though, is that she was attempting to write extremely complex dialogue in a manner that reflected her discourse community, and I had to congratulate her for that. I kept thinking to myself that she ought to listen to books on tape at the very least, so that she might get a grasp on how to compose her writings. She had a lot of potential to say important things, and with that being said, I think she represents a good reason to incorporate some auditory elements into writing practices. As for visual, this could also be useful for people whose strengths in learning are visually oriented or who also have learning disabilities that could be improved by images.
DeleteFor such an interesting article, I am having the most difficult time conveying to you all how much I enjoyed reading this article. I have started numerous times—all false starts—and I just can’t get it right. I don’t know about you, but when I’m trying to find an article I will read a few lines and if it doesn’t hold a smidgen of my attention, it’s Sayonara, stuffy scholarly article! But how do I share with you this interesting, thought provoking piece about remaining fresh and on target in regards to teaching.
ReplyDeleteAt first my inner Crabby Critic wanted a go at Bob Mayberry’s article. Hmph! “Teaching by Indirection.” Indirection? Isn’t that one of those all boy bands the young tweens are screaming for? What is all this nonsense? Where’s my cane?
Mayberry begins his essay with a reoccurring nightmare set off in italics and then sprinkled with some poetry—wait—what? What is this? What is this doing in the Composition Studies Journal?
Because Mayberry reminds us not to get stuck in our ways or in the past and to be accepting of different methods. There are some inspirational points, reminders but, most importantly, Mayberry kept me reading. I was engrossed actually. I even forgot I was doing my homework.
Mayberry tells the story of being in college during the Vietnam War and the professor who changed his life and the subsequent firing of the professor, as well as influences it has had on his teaching career and method. This was the professor that inspired Mayberry into becoming an English major.
I imagine you are now rolling your eyes and saying to yourself, “I think I already saw this movie…” Yes, it is a bit similar to Dead Poets Society. It does teeter on the edge of being idealistic, but Uncle Paul, as Mayberry has nicknamed him, is a chain-smoking nervous English professor who seemed ahead of his time.
Mayberry tells of Uncle Paul’s questionnaires that seemed to be the prototype to our teacher evaluations and how he felt his opinion was of value to the professor. In Uncle Paul’s attempt at getting students involved, he let students choose the poets for the semester and how it “gave the students a power…it was our ideas and analyses that shaped class, not his,” (133).
Paul was the kind of professor that wasn’t clear on how or what he expected out of an essay and Mayberry eventually rebelled by writing a response to a song. We’ve talked often about the rule of not using the “I” pronoun and, in his defiant paper, Mayberry revealed his inner “I.” It worked and the professor wanted more “personal connections.” He fondly recalls: “In one phrase Uncle Paul had overthrown my high school education,”(132). Perhaps there is hope for ousting the 5-paragraph essay.
cont'd...
Writing and composing isn’t about regurgitating facts, rather the student should be “authoring [his/her] own education,” (135) and how can this be possible? Educators must remember that it is their duty to “challenge[ ] our comfortable habits of thought….push[ ] [us] to clarify [our] own beliefs,” (136). Paul was the kind of teacher who squeezed critical thinking out of his students by giving them the keys to the car.
ReplyDeletePaul was eventually fired from his tenured position for his participation in an anti-war protest—a patsy of sorts—and Mayberry saw the fear of his professor’s colleagues to afraid of losing their jobs to speak up. “And so I learned from Paul who the enemies of good teaching are: the enemies within, like complacency and fear, as well as the enemies without, politically motivated Regents and administrators, even the institution itself,” (138).
And Mayberry recognizes that fear in colleges of today. He tells how during an English department meeting the faculty objected to “introducing process pedagogy into [freshman] classes,” (the study of writing as a process), with some suggesting to “‘go back to the way it was twenty years ago.’ Another wanted ‘more formulaic writing.’ They asserted that peer editing ‘was a waste of time,’” (138). His essay is a reminder to be aware of the enemies, to know the enemies, if we as students and as teachers want to grow. Or, you know, you could just go on with your academic career writing those wretched, lifeless 5 paragraph essays.
Works Cited
Mayberry, Bob. "Teaching by Indirection." Composition Studies (2010): 128-140.
First of all, I hope you write every academic essay in the same fashion as you wrote this. Talk about conveying personality! And you present your connections and conclusions rather smoothly. ^^ Even teachers will tell you that in college, you only get out what you put in. If that's the case, then why do teachers come equipped with everything with which they want you to walk away all while denying you, the student, the opportunity to contribute or explore? Mayberry hits a massive nail on the head: complacency is a terrible enemy. Indeed, as a student, complacency is what keeps you stuck in those 5-paragraph essays. It takes a desire to explore beyond what has been done for centuries to sneak in that first "I" statement in an academic essay…but when you do, it's freeing. Personally, I feel that complacency is a bigger problem maybe not so much with the institutions but with the students. I see institutions trying to change. The fact that we even have this class is proof of an attempt at change. But how many students still felt safer writing that 5-paragraph essay for this very class, than to branch out and speak a little more freely? I like that Mayberry used his personal anecdote to make his point; as you did for this post.
DeleteThis is such an interesting idea. Knowing who the enemy is strikes me as such poignant advice. I think that for many there is a fear associated with writing. Since people believe that writing operates as either a "you got it, or you don't" then they never even try to push themselves. It seems like teaching writing then becomes an act of removing as many of these detractors as possible.
DeleteSo my question would be do you think this kind of professor would get fired today? Or from Metro? As we like to consider ourselves enlightened today and Metro as diverse, I would hope they would be protected, but who knows right? I would say that I would Love a teacher like this, choosing our own readings, challenging students thinking. But as we have often discussed in class teachers that simply will not be clear on what they expect, that is nerve racking to us "A" driven students. I do have a professor right now that very causally gives lectures, our 1st test last week did not go well, he gave us a "very healthy curve." Most of the students in this class enjoy his demeanor he tries to give us challenges, challenging the field of Psychology, and asks us daily what we have to offer? Yet there are still some people in my class who are going bonkers over how causal he is, how they are not "learning" anything! They simply cannot come to class and relax, or except the challenges he offers, he offers them as contemplation. A lens to look at ourselves and our field, and its a bit humorous to sit back and listen to. Nice choice of language to convey the points making your response not wretched or lifeless!
ReplyDeleteSo for some reason I can't reply to a post directly, so I will be posting my replies here.
ReplyDeleteMy first reply is to Deana's post. I think it is incredibly useful to discuss teachers and professors of English. Too often we talk about theory and how to run a classroom, but we forget to talk about the actual people who are putting these things into practice. I know I can say that I teachers and professors themselves have had a greater impact on me than just theories (don't get me wrong, I love theories and philosophies, but it's the people who present them that make them stick). These theories were created and theorized by real people. To me this ties into the discussions we've been having about knowing who the writer is when we read a piece; knowing who the teachers and professors are is just as important. Thanks for sharing this article!
My second reply is to Brad's post. Ahhh! This is super exciting! I took English 1010 at Arapahoe Community College and my professor was always telling us we could include links to things, music, videos, and whatever other media we wanted in our essays. Naturally, young me was super against such nonsense, but present day me is thinking it's really awesome. I've been studying a lot of postmodernism recently (for Children's Literature) and dare I say that the synthesizing of writing and multimedia will be the definition of our post-postmodern age? I like how you brought up things like the online Harry Potter world. It's easy (at least for me) to think of the text and multimedia combination thing as just writing with hyperlinks, or writing and a companion/equality partner (yep...that's a thing now that I just made up) dvd or cd, but really there are whole worlds to be created. The story or ideas can continue as long as there is a forum for them to continue in. I love it. Now off to write the first crown jewel of post-postmodernism. (P.S., if post-postmodernism is already a thing I'm gonna be way mad. If it is a thing, just keep adding "post-" as a prefix until it's something new.)
My third reply is to Tiffany's post. I really like the idea of writing as wandering and authors as wanderers. Like Jody said, I think this article ties in pretty well with the one Kayla and I wrote about. I think what both authors are trying to get at is that all writing, regardless of the genre or discipline, should be in someway enjoyable. Not only that, but it should be a chance to let ourselves grow and discover. We should be allow ourselves to wander through the material and subject matter. If we do this, then all our writing will be more organic and meaningful.
ReplyDelete