Department of English and Journalism

English 583: Contemporary Theories of Composition

Syllaweb--Spring 1997

Like the field of literature, the discipline of composition has been revolutionized by the recent emphasis on theory. In English 583 we'll read several theoretical texts by compositionists. These texts will be the core of our work together, to be supplemented by other books and essays to which our texts direct us.

TEXTS:

• Erica Lindemann and Gary Tate: Introduction to Composition Studies
• James Berlin: Rhetoric and Reality
• Karen Burke LeFevre: Invention as a Social Act
• Donnalee Rubin: Gender Influences: Reading Student Texts
• Lester Faigley: Fragments of Rationality
• Christina Haas: Writing and Technology
• Additional articles (photocopies, reserve, or web)

We'll spend two or three weeks on each of the texts for the course. I'll lead the discussion of the Composition Studies essays and Rhetoric and Reality. Thereafter, you will take over. Groups of four or five will be responsible for the work with each of the remaining texts.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

• Faithful attendance (an expectation in all graduate courses).
• Careful reading of texts and appropriate supplementary material.
• Two papers on issues raised by the reading.
• Email postings to theory-l four times a week including responses to readings, to points raised in class, to one another's ideas and questions. All posts should observe standard netiquette conventions.
• Participation. We will be acting as a discourse community, writing and talking in order to discover meaning. Your participation in the class discussion is essential.
• Group leadership of discussion of texts.
• A final exam which synthesizes several theoretical approaches.

GRADING:

You'll receive grades on the two papers and the exam. I'll also grade your participation (a major component of which will be your group presentation) and your email work (full credit if you post four times per week). Each of the five grades will be approximately 1/5 of the final grade.

EMAIL:

If you don't have one, please get an internet (ECN) account and use Pine or Eudora to subscribe to theory-l and post email messages to the list.

There are four computers in the Writing Center (Simpkins 341), though they are usually in high demand. Your best bet is to use the labs in Stipes, Morgan, the Library, or a residence hall. If you have a modem for a home computer, you should take three formatted HD disks to the Academic Computing office in Stipes so they can copy two programs for you:

• Kermit, which will let you access your ECN account for email and web work, and
• Slip, the suite of internet programs for Windows, which will let you view World Wide Web pages and also telnet to your account from Windows.

Tentative schedule of assignments.

How to Find me:

Escape clause: This syllabus is subject to revision as circumstances dictate. You can expect additional links to be added with some regularity--check this site often!.

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