This scripted dialogue is a fully documented story about the history and conditions of one group of post-secondary teachers of English. The narrative focuses on the proposal of this group of "permanent" temporary writing instructors from Western Illinois University to convince administrators to change their status to tenure track by…

Citing the revolutionary ideas that Theodore Baird brought to his freshman composition classes at Amherst College (Massachusetts)--ideas such as requiring students to write often and from experience--this book examines the innovative work and groundbreaking ideas of Baird and his staff. The book focuses on Baird's pedagogy and his belief in a…

By the late 19th century, the new universities in the United States had become so closely intertwined with the research imperative that their future depended on their position at the center of knowledge creation. The tension between the liberal arts college and the "modern" research university initiated a process of differentiation that…

Radical composition teachers see a need for democratic learning methods such as classroom dialogue and collaborative research, but ultimately the constraints of classroom life prevent the use of such methods. As a result, many leftist teachers end up practicing strategies that seem to be taken from traditional rhetorics. Donald Lazere, one leftist…

Four composition teachers (two adjunct and two full-time faculty members at a large midwestern urban university) with a combined 80 years teaching experience were interviewed concerning how they perceive and use theory in the classroom. Questions focused on three areas: what theories guided them in teaching composition; what they felt the trends…

Reflecting on Jean-Francois Lyotard's work "The Postmodern Condition" may provide those who work in the writing center with additional ideas about how to make writing centers the next best thing in composition instruction. Lyotard offers a way to argue against the affirmation of traditional values and characteristics in writing (i.e.,…

This 1994 Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) Roundtable was composed of "Permanent Temps" from schools across the United States; it originated in audience reaction to one session in San Diego (California) in 1993 (ERIC ED 356 483). This 1994 session highlighted ways in which these permanent temporary faculty are…

The professionalization of composition studies in relation to other disciplines has created a drive for standardization (in response to the need to be distinctive from other fields), which has as a negative consequence the devaluing of practitioner knowledge. Further, the process of projecting value on the discipline involves the…

This book examines the status of composition in English studies and the uneasy relationship between composition and literature. The three parts of the book (entitled "Where the Carnival Has Been,""The Carnival in the Great American Theme Park: Established Composition," and "Alternative Entertainments") seek to clarify…

This collection of essays addresses the anxieties and problems of beginning writing teachers and provides a reality check for those who expect success from "day one." Following an Introduction: "Silences in Our Teaching Stories; What Do We Leave Out and Why?" (Thomas Newkirk), essays in the collection are: (1) "Forty-Eight…

This position paper from the Conference on College Composition and Communication offers guidelines for faculty embarking on careers in the field of composition and rhetoric. The paper addresses the following: terms of employment; conditions of employment; issues of reappointment, promotion, and permanent status; and issues of professionalism and…

Multiculturalism has emphasized the difficulty in valuing "unity" given diversities of gender, class, culture, and ethnicity, and has illustrated how a desire for unity can function to routinize and standardize the teaching of writing into an object of safe consumption. Writing teachers should be wary of asking students to identify…

A European history professor who was once a discipline-specific writing tutor finds that she is now more actively involved in "teaching" writing to non-majors and majors. Her responsibilities as a discipline-specific tutor entailed some possible steps: upon beginning a tutorial session, she might only brainstorm with the student various…

At any level, good writing requires an acknowledgment of writing strengths and weaknesses by both student and instructor. The four project collaborators/writing teachers outlined six specific areas on a teacher feedback sheet to note students' writing strengths and weaknesses; the areas of purpose, audience, thesis, development, organization, and…

The way writing is taught has changed over the last 35 years--in this new century the movement has been to the "post process age" to focus on the role that social factors such as race, class, ethnicity, and gender play in determining writing development. This paper considers how this shift in the writing classroom from an emphasis on…