College Composition and Communication, Vol. 59, No. 3, February 2008

Table of Contents

• From the Editor

  Deborah H. Holdstein

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: College

• In Memoriam: William F. Irmscher

  John Webster

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: William Irmscher, past president of NCTE (1983) and past chair of CCCC (1979), passed away just before Christamas.

  Keywords: College

• A Kind Word for Bullshit: The Problem of Academic Writing

  Philip Eubanks and John D. Schaeffer

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: The phrase “academic bullshit” presents compositionists with a special dilemma. Because compositionists study, teach, and produce academic writing, they are open to the accusation that they both tolerate and perpetuate academic bullshit. We argue that confronting this problem must begin with a careful definition of “bullshit” and “academic bullshit.” In contrast to Harry Frankfurt’s checklist method of definition, we examine “bullshit” as a graded category. We suggest that some varieties of academic bullshit may be both unavoidable and beneficial.

  Keywords: College

• “English May Be My Second Language, but I’m Not ‘ESL’”

  Christina Ortmeier-Hooper

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: In this essay, I present three case studies of immigrant, first-year students, as they negotiate their identities as second language writers in mainstream composition classrooms. I argue that such terms as “ESL” and “Generation 1.5” are often problematic for students and mask a wide range of student experiences and expectations.

  Keywords: College

• Personal Genres, Public Voices

  Jane Danielewicz

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Writing in personal genres, like autobiography, leads writers to public voices. Public voice is a discursive quality of a text that conveys the writer’s authority and position relative to others. To show how voice and authority depend on genre, I analyze the autobiographies of two writers who take opposing positions on the same topic. By producing texts in genres with recognizable social functions, student writers gain agency.

  Keywords: College

• Arguing with Adversaries: Aikido, Rhetoric, and the Art of Peace

  Barry M. Kroll

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: The Japanese martial art of aikido affords a framework for understanding argument as harmonization rather than confrontation. Two movements, circling away (tenkan) and entering in (irimi), suggest tactics for arguing with adversaries. The ethical imperative of aikido involves protecting one’s adversary from harm, using the least force necessary, and, when possible, transforming aggression into cooperation.

  Keywords: College

• When Writing Professors Teach Literature: Shaping Questions, Finding Answers, Effecting Change

  Richard C. Raymond

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: The article explores writing-centered pedagogies that deepen student learning in literature survey courses. More broadly, the article also responds to Richard Fulkerson and Maureen Daly Goggin, who challenge professors of English studies to find disciplinary unity within the diverse epistemologies of rhetoric.

  Keywords: College

• Interchanges: Commenting on Douglas Downs and Elizabeth Wardle’s “Teaching about Writing, Righting Misconceptions”

  Libby Miles, Michael Pennell, Kim Hensley Owens, Jeremiah Dyehouse, Helen O’Grady, Nedra Reynolds, Robert Schwegler, and Linda Shamoon

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: College

• Interchanges: Academic Freedom as a Rhetorical Construction: A Response to Powers and Chaput

  Matthew Abraham

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: College

• Perspectives

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Coming to See Myself as a Vernacular Intellectual: Remarks at the 2007 CCCC General Session on Receiving the Exemplar Award Peter Elbow My Five-Paragraph-Theme Theme Ed White The Fourth Generation Kristen Kennedy.

  Keywords: College

• Review Essays

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Review Essays: The Literacies of Hip-Hop Nancy Effinger Wilson Roc the Mic Right: The Language of Hip Hop Culture H. Samy Alim “Gettin’ Our Groove On”: Rhetoric, Language, and Literacy for the Hip Hop Generation Kermit E. Campbell Hiphop Literacies Elaine Richardson Word from the Mother: Language and African Americans Geneva Smitherman.

  Keywords: College

• Review Essays

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Review Essays: Defining Dialect David Johnson American Voices: How Dialects Differ from Coast to Coast Ed. Walt Wolfram and Ben Ward Do You Speak American? Robert MacNeil and William Cran A Teachers’ Introduction to African American English: What a Writing Teacher Should Know Teresa M. Redd and Karen Schuster Webb.

  Keywords: College

• CCCC Chair’s Letter

  Akua Duku Anokye

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: College

• CCC Guidelines for Writers

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: College

• CCCC News

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: College

• Announcements and Calls

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: College

* Journal articles are provided in PDF format and can be opened using the free Adobe® Reader® program or a comparable viewer. Click here to download and install the most recent version of Adobe Reader.