Professor Chris
Thaiss
Understanding the
history
and theories on which sound teaching practice is based goes hand in
hand
with good practice. In this seminar we explore some well-known works by
reflective teachers that have shaped current practice, as well as some
recent work that is developing composition theory in response to
changes
in culture and technology. My goals in this seminar are (1) to improve
our understanding of theories and theorists and (2) to encourage your
own
building of theory that will strengthen and enrich your practice as
writer
and as teacher or prospective teacher.
We will proceed by
reading
and discussing an array of interesting and often controversial work,
writing
twice-weekly responses (online) to these works, and developing and
sharing
our own theoretical projects. This project will be a research-based
study
of a particular theory or theorist of your choice. Indeed, I will
encourage
you to explore issues and authors of particular moment to your own
current
teaching or writing.
In this seminar, you
will also be visiting a number of websites devoted to composition at
various
places in the U.S. Among local websites of interest are the Northern
Virginia Writing Project, the GMU
Writing Center, the GMU Writing
across
the Curriculum homepage, the GMU
Nonfiction Writing Universe, the English
Composition homepage, and the Virginia
Dept. of Education "Standards of Learning" site.
Of particular
interest
to students of composition is GMU's own web-based theory journal, Enculturation,
edited by the English Department's Byron Hawk. For your theory-building
projects, I also recommend the CompPile
database (maintained by Richard Haswell and Glenn Blalock).
Further, if you are
not
already a member of the National
Council
of Teachers of English, I strongly urge you to visit the NCTE
website
and learn about the advantages of and procedures for joining. Students
may do so at a greatly reduced rate.
1/26
Introductions: Beginning Explorations of Theory and Theorizing
2/2 History of
Writing
Instruction and Its Theories, from 5th Century BCE Athens to
the 12th Century CE; have read Murphy essays by Enos, Murphy,
and
Lanham; due:
"position" reflections on yourself as comp theorist
(min. 500 words) (NOTE: We will meet for the first hour of this class
in Innovation Hall 319 to
learn Townhall
interactive software) Before
you come to Innovation Hall 319 for our session, PLEASE know your GMU
username
and password. You will not be able to login to Townhall without this
information.
Begin Townhall entries.
2/9 History of
Writing
Instruction and Its Theories, from the English Renaissance to the U.S.
in 1900; have read Murphy essays by Abbott, Ferreira-Buckley/Horner,
and
Wright/Halloran.
2/16 History of
Writing
Instruction and its Theories: 1900-2000; have read Murphy essay by
Hobbs/Berlin and Villanueva essay by Kinneavy. I anticipate being out
of town for this session, so there will be no on-campus class, but we
will carry on a Townhall forum this week on the Hobbs/Berlin and
Kinneavy essays. Due: proposals for individual
theory-building projects
(1 p.) 2/19 Last day to drop
courses without Dean’s permission 2/23
Contemporary
Theories
and Theorists I: "Process" and "Expressivist": have read GCP essays by
Tobin and Burnham, and Villanueva
essays
by Murray, Sommers, and Emig.
3/2 Contemporary
Theories
and Theorists II: "Process" and "Cognitive/Developmental": have read
Villanueva essays by Britton, Flower and Hayes, and Shaughnessy. 3/9 Contemporary Theories and Theorists III:
"Writing across the Curriculum." Guest Theorist: Terry Myers Zawacki,
who will speak and lead discussion on our research on "alternative
discourses and learning to write in disciplines." Have read handout
essays by Thaiss/Zawacki and Fox, as well as GCP essays by McLeod and
Covino. Spring Break 3/23 Contemporary Theories and Theorists IV:
Social (Epistemic, Feminist, Cross-Cultural, "Post-process");
have read GCP essay by Jarratt, as well as Villanueva
essays by Rose (p. 547 ff.), Breuch, Bartholomae, Flynn
4/13 Comp
Theory Case
II: Composition and New Technologies. Have read GCP essay by
Moran and other articles TBA. I will grade your
performance
holistically at the end of the term on all the above work. Please feel
free to ask me at any time for my assessment of your progress.
English 697:
Theory of Composition
Wednesdays 4:30-7:10 PM
Robinson A125
Required
Texts
Course
Schedule
Assignments
Grades
Required
Texts
Gary Tate, Amy Rupiper, and Kurt Schick, eds. A
Guide to Composition Pedagogies. New York: Oxford University
Press, 2001.
Victor Villanueva,
Jr., ed.
Cross-Talk in Comp Theory: A Reader. 2nd Edition (revised
and updated). Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English,
2003.
(Note: be sure to use the 2nd editon, as stocked in the bookstore.)
Constance Weaver, ed. Lessons to Share: On Teaching Grammar in
Context. Porstmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook/Heinemann, 1998.
4/20 Comp Theory Case III: Writing and
Standardized Testing. Have browsed SOL website (other readings TBA). Research
mini-presentations
begin.
4/27 Research mini-presentations; drafts
of theory-building projects (10 pp. min.) due
5/4 Course
evaluation;
research
mini-presentations.
5/11 Final drafts of
projects
due
at
5 PM in my mailbox in English main office (A487 Robinson).
Theory 'Blog (30
% of course grade) on Townhall Electronic Forum
From the beginning of February onward
you’ll
take part in a twice-weekly Internet forum
(asynchronous)
based on the topics and readings for that week’s class. I ask you to
write
at least one full screen per week as part of a conversation among the
members
of the seminar.You’ll be responding both to the assigned material and
to
one another’s comments. Hence, I’d like you to log in twice a week, so
you can contribute in the early and more advanced stages of the
conversation.
These commentaries should be thoughtful, incisive reflections on the
topics
in relation to your own teaching and writing. I’d like the tone of
these
remarks always to remain thoughtful and congenial. It’s fine to
disagree
with a colleague or with me, but I ask you to do so in the spirit of
collegiality.
I'm calling this forum a "'blog," which is short for "web log"; 'blogs
( or just "blogs") are becoming more and more popular in composition
and
other classes, as a variable medium for informal writing. This blog
will
be atypical, since it's not a collection of individual websites that
each
student creates, but a single website to which we all contribute. Feel
free to use your space not only for your written entries, but also to
insert
images, links, etc., pertinent to our discussions.
Townhall
is a web-based discussion program that is used by many GMU teachers to
conduct both real-time (synchronous) and non-concurrent (asynchronous)
forums for students.We will devote part of one class (Feb. 2) to a
real-time
discussion on Townhall and to instruction in how to use the program for
our weekly online conversations
Theory-Building
Project
(30%
of course grade)
From the start of the
semester, think about and plan this culminating project, which asks you
to think, read, and write deeply about a particular question, issue, or
application of composition theory and to build your own theory in
relation
to it. This project is NOT primarily a description of a technique, such
as you might prepare in ENGL 615; you could, however, take a particular
technique or method as your subject and explore its history and the
theories on which it is based. Most students in previous seminars have
chosen topics that relate closely to their needs as teachers and that
come out of their teaching situations. Some projects have focused on
the work of individual theorists. You may draw on any of the theorists
and practitioners we study
in the course or that you have studied previously, but I also expect
you
to read further, though not exhaustively, into the literature (print
and
online) closely relevant to the particular topic.
The project should
culminate
in an essay of at least ten pages. A preliminary proposal is due
February 16 (1 page, including a description of the project and a short
biblio
of
relevant sources); a first, complete draft is due April 27 (I'll return
the draft with comments on May 4); the revised draft is due May 11 at 5
PM
in my English mailbox. Feel free to consult with me about the work in
progress
at any point in the course. Note:
no credit can be given to any
finished
project that is not preceded by a proposal and a complete first draft
on
the dates noted.
Multimedia option: If
you choose, you may develop your project as a web-based or otherwise
multimedia
work, incorporating other elements besides word text. To learn various
web skills you'd need to do this, I recommend the services of the STAR
center for student technology; also, the web tutorials of the English
Department's
Technology
in the English Concentrations website can be very helpful.
Mini-Presentation
of Theory-Building Research (10% of course grade)
On the last three
evenings
of the course (4/20, 4/27, and 5/4) we’ll hear brief presentations
(10-15
minutes
each) from the members of the seminar on the theory-building projects
in
which all of you have been engaged. Think of the presentation as an
outline
of your full project, a summary of its focus, of the main writers who
have
influenced your own thinking on the topic, and of your conclusions.
Don’t
write a brief version of your paper and read it to us. (If you wish,
you
might write such a version as a working tool, but don’t present it.)
Instead,
accompany your oral explanation with a one-page handout that helps us
follow
along and feel free to use the board, a poster, the overhead projector,
or the VCR/TV as a further visual support.
Seminar
Participation
(30% of course grade)
Your full, active,
well-prepared,
and thoughtful participation in our discussions is essential toward
both
the success of the course and your own success in it. I look forward to
many evenings of productive, intense, enjoyable discussion and to
excellent
online conversations as well.
B= Satisfactory
performance
of all assignments on time and according to stated criteria will earn
at
least a B. It should go without saying that all written work should be
carefully proofread and conform to Edited American English syntax
(unless
your use of non-standard forms in your theory-building project is part
of conscious production relevant to the topic of your essay).
B+= Outstanding
performance
in one aspect of the course and satisfactory performance in all.
A- = Outstanding
performance
in more than one aspect of the course and satisfactory performance in
all.
A= Outstanding
performance
in most aspects of the course and at least satisfactory performance on
all
C= Less than
satisfactory
performance in any aspect of the course.
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of
Syllabus