Composition: History & Theory: 2000 - 2009
College Composition and Communication, Volume 59, No. 3: 2008
Description
CONTENTS
A Kind Word for Bullshit: The Problem of Academic Writing: Philip Eubanks and John D. Schaeffer continue Harry Frankfurt’s essay “On Bullshit” to offer a clear definition of “academic bullshit.” The problem is that Composition instructors use “bullshit” when they write in a scholarly mode and teach disciplinary writing as exemplary to Undergraduates (which is also bullshit). Prototypical bullshit is defined as misrepresentation with a complete disregard for the truth, but the authors wonder “is it deceptive to represent oneself as one actually aspires to be; to create an ethos one doesn’t have yet but wants to have?” (377). The vicious cycle of academic bullshit: “professors write prolix books and articles, students imitate their professors’ style, and professors reward them for it” (382). The problem is in the intended audience and the received audience. “Bullshit” can be described as “gamesmanship” but it’s not as bad as it seems, as everyone knows about the game and expects people to follow the rules. We do not want cynical “bullster” bullshit or masculinist ludic bullshit, but we do want productive bullshit that “ultimately produces better thought and better selves” (387). When Writing Professors Teach Literature: Shaping Questions, Finding Answers, Effecting Change: Richard C. Raymond talks about his experience teaching literature in the Composition classroom and his desire to re-integrate the two disciplines. It is extremely pedagogical as he explains his syllabus and the actual day-by-day activities he intends to undertake in the classroom. It is a particular classroom, as he is describing a teaching stint he does in Albania, but most of the strategies seem applicable in an OU classroom. Most of his teaching was radical to the students: they were not used to interpretation, but were expecting memorization; they were not used to a democratic classroom but soon learned to speak in class; they had never done group work before. His teaching style focuses on personalizing the readings and hoping that this personal approach leads to engaging writing and fruitful discussions. He also praises his student’s work in class and really encourages them as a group. Another aspect of his teaching in Albania is to connect the American political themes with contemporary Albanian themes. Ultimately he feels that it was worthwhile to teach a lit class as a writing class. The only downside he saw was having to be less comprehensive concerning the artistic era he was lecturing on. Coming to See Myself as a Vernacular Intellectual: Remarks at the 2007 CCCC General Session on Receiving the Exemplar Award: Peter Elbow graciously accepts the Exemplar Award and takes a look at his career. He says that throughout his career he has “been trying to give ownership of writing to everyone—that is, to democratize or vernacularize writing” (520). He is surprised how his ideas in Writing Without Teachers have been implemented and stresses that he is not against teachers and never meant for “teacherless” classrooms to exist during normal class time. He now wants to bring elements of spoken language into the writing classroom. He hopes to be perceived, in terms of the academy, as a “vernacular intellectual,” which is someone who uses their education to get back to his/her roots and plays at the intersection of popular and intellectual. ADDITIONAL ARTICLES: English May Be My Second Language, but I’m not ‘ESL’ Christina Ortmeir-Hooper; Personal Genres, Public Voices Jane Danielewicz; Arguing with Adversaries: Akido, Rhetoric, and the Art of Peace Barry M. Kroll
CONNECTIONS AND REFLECTIONS (Chris S.)
I found the article on bullshit to be of deep interest to a personal conflict I have always had about the necessities of professionalization in academic writing and how this writing intentionally excludes the “average reader.” Raymond’s essay on teaching a lit course as a writing course was extremely appropriate for me, as I have been doing this as long as I have been teaching, but not to the degree with which he does it and I would like to use aspects of his model in my own course design. I really enjoyed this issue and was glad to engage CCCs instead of CE this time around, just to get a feel for the two journals. I like how CCCs puts a little abstract before the essay begins to save time and provide an outline/context.
Date of Upload
3/15/09