This article argues that the teaching of public writing should not neglect issues of circulation and local need. In a series of case studies involving small press papers and homeless advocacy, the authors seek to extend recent work begun by Susan Wells, John Trimbur, and Nancy Welch, which raises crucial questions about public rhetoric in the…

Like other seemingly ordinary materials (cookbooks, street art, scrapbooks, etc.) the subject of our investigation--holy cards or (in Italian) "immaginette"--often function as rich repositories of personal and cultural memory as well as indicators of popular literacy practices. But to relegate them to the category of ephemera, as is customary with…

The 2003 annual meeting of Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) opened in New York concurrently with the US invasion of Iraq on March 18, and many conference participants discussed the relation between rhetoric, the teaching of writing, and the war. This article presents some of the more memorable reflections on rhetoric and…

Attempts to bring composition studies into a more thoroughgoing discussion of the place of visual literacy in the writing classroom. Argues that throughout the history of writing instruction in the United States the terms of debate typical in discussions of visual literacy and the teaching of writing have limited the kinds of assignments educators…

Discusses the beginning of the Conference on College Composition and Communication and how it provided a glimpse of the natural alliance between composition and communication. Describes how the early CCCC over time began to gain more composition than communication participants. Concludes that communication cannot be abandoned completely, and it…

Describes the characteristics and behavior of three kinds of peer groups in the composition classroom. Discusses some of the difficulties these groups encounter in their critiquing, and some suggestions for improving the dynamics of the less successful groups. (HTH)