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Rhetorics, Poetics, and Cultures: Refiguring College English Studies

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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 395 315 CS 215 285 AUTHOR Berlin, James A. TITLE Rhetorics, Poetics, and Cultures: Refiguring College English Studies. Refiguring English Studies Series. INSTITUTION National Council of Teachers of English, Urbana, REPORT NO ISBN-0-8141-4145-5; ISSN-1073-9637 PUB DATE 96 NOTE 218p. AVAILABLE FROMNational Council of Teachers of English, 1111 W. Kenyon Road, Urbana, IL 61801-1096 (Stock No. 41455-3050: $18.95 members, $25.95 nonmembers). PUB TYPE Historical Materials (060) Guides Classroom Use Teaching Guides (For Teacher) (052) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC09 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *College English; *Cultural Context; *Curriculum Evaluation; Educational H:story; *English Departments; *English Instruction; Higher Education; Humanities; Language Role; Literary Criticism; *Rhetoric; Teacher Student Relationship IDENTIFIERS *Critical Literacy; Cultural Studies; Departmental Politics; Literary Canon; Poetics; Postmodernism ABSTRACT . This book, the final work of a noted rhetorician and scholar, examines the history and development of English studies, and the economic and social changes that affect the understanding of the humanities today. Noting that while rhetoric once held a central place in the college curriculum, the book describes how rhetoric became marginalized in college English departments as the study of literature assumed greater status in the 20th century--a result of the shift in decision-making in practical and political matters from the "citizenry" to university-trained experts. The first section of the book provides relevant historical background and explores the political uses of English as a discipline. The second section, "The Postmodern Predicament," shifts the focus to the contemporary scene. The third section, "Students and Teachers," explores the general guidelines recommend3d for the pedagogy of a refigured English studies. It is argued that the classroom should become the center of disciplinary activities, the point at which theory, practice, and democratic politics interact. In the final section, "Departmental Directions," three English departments that have addressed concerns about English studies are profiled and recent research that attempts to correct failings in traditional approaches to Loth literary and rhetorical studies is discussed. Also, research in rhetoric and composition is examined. An afterword by Janice Lauer concludes the book. (NKA) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * from the original document. *********************************************************************** U S. DEPARTMENTOF EDUCATION <Nice ce Eaucationa, neseamn ano imonwernent EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER IERIC) Cf This document nas beenreproauced as Points of view or opinions stated in this ecetved horn the person or organization document do not necessanly represent originating it official OERI position or policy. 0 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER IERICI BEST COPY AVAILABLE Refiguring English Studies provides a forum for scholar- Refiguring ship on English Studies as a discipline, a profession, and ENGLISH a vocation. To that end, the series publishes historical work that considers the ways in which English Studies STUDIES has constructed itself and its objects of study; investiga- tions of the relationships among its constituent parts as conceived in both disciplinary and institutional terms; and examinations of the role the discipline has played or should play in the larger society and public policy. In addition, the series seeks to feature studies that, by their form or focus, challenge our notions about how the written "work" of En- glish can or should be done and to feature writings that represent the professional lives of the discipline's members in both traditional and nontraditional settings. The series also includes scholarship that con- siders the discipline's possible futures or that draws upon work in other disciplines to shed light on developments in English Studies. Volumes in the Series David B. Downing, editor, Changing Classroom Practices: Resources for Lit- erary and Cultural Studies (1994) Jed Rasula, The American Poetry Wax Museum: Reality Effels, 1940-1990 (1995) James A. Berlin, Rhetorics, Poetics, and Cultures: Refiguring College English Studies (1996) Robin Varnum, Fencing with Words: A History of Writing Instruction at Amherst College during the Era of Theodore Baird, 1938-1966 (1996) NCTE Editorial Board:Colette Daiute, Hazel Davis, Bobbi Fisher, Keith Gilyard, Gail Hawisher, Ronald Jobe, Richard Ltickert, Karen Smith, Chair, ex officio, Mario Welshons, ex officio NCTE College Section Committee: James L. Hill, Chair, Albany State College; Frank Madden, Assistant Chair, Westchester Community College; Pat Belanoff, SUNY at Stony Brook; Theresa Enos, CCCC Representative, University of Ari- zona; Jeanette Harris, University of Southern Mississippi; Dawn Rodrigues, Kennesaw State College; Cynthia Selfe, Michigan Technological University; Tom Waldrep, University of South Carolina; Collett Dilworth, CEE Representative, East Carolina University; Louise Smith, ex officio, Editor,College English,Uni- versity of Massachusetts at Boston; Miriam Chaplin, Executive Committee Liai- son, Rutgers University; Miles Myers, NCTE Staff Liaison Rhetorics, Poetics, and Cultures Refiguring College English Studies James A. Berlin Purdue University Refiguring English Studies Stephen M. North, Series Editor SUNY at Albany Ny7 uo \-1 National Council of Teachers of English ct 1111 W. Kenyon Road,Urbana, Illinois 61801-'1096 r: Manuscript Editor: Michael Himick Production Editor: Michelle Sanden Joh las Interior Design: Tom Kovacs for TGK Design Cover Design: Pat Mayer NCTE Stock Number: 41455-3050 © 1996 by the National Council of Teachers of English. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. It is the policy of NCTE in its journals and other publications to providea forum for the open discussion of ideas concerning the content and the teaching ofEn- glish and the language arts. Publicity accorded toany particular point of view does not imply endorsement by the Executive Committee, the Board ofDirec- tors, or the membership at large, except in announcements of policy, where such endorsement is clearly specified. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Berlin, James A. Rhetorics, poetics, and cultures : refiguring college English studies / James A. Berlin. p. c. (Refiguring English studies) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8141-4145-5 1. English philologyStudy and teaching (Higher)United States. 2. English languageRhetoricStudy and teachingUnited States. 3. PoeticsStudy and teaching (Higher)United States. 4. Language and cultureUnited States. 5. Pluralism (Social sciences). I. Title. II. Series. PE68.U5B47 1996 808'.042'071173dc20 95-42783 Contents vii Editor's Note ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction I. Historical Background 1 1. Building the Boundaries of EnglishStudies 3 2. Where Do English DepartmentsReally Come From? 17 II. The Postmodern Predicament 39 3. Postmodernism, the CollegeCurriculum, and English Studies 41 4. Postmodernism in the Academy 57 5. Social-Epistemic Rhetoric, Ideology,and English Studies 77 III. Students and Teachers 95 6. English Studies: Surveying theClassroOm 97 7. Into the Classroom 115 IV. Department Directions 147 8. Sample Programs and Research 149 9. A Closing Word 177 vi Contents Afterword 181 Janice M. Lauer Works Cited 183 Index 197 Author 205 Editor's Note James Berlin first submitted a manuscript versionof Rhetorics, Poetics, and Cultures: Refiguring College EnglishStudies to NCTE's Refiguring English Studies series in the winter of 1992. Inthe spring of 1993, based on both my ownrecommendations and those of four outside reviewers, the College Editorial Board approved a contractfor the book, pending revisions. Professor Berlin completed the revisionsand resubmitted the project in November 1993, at which pointthe manuscript was sent out for a second round of reviews. In January, Iforwarded those reviews to him, and he made still further revisions. At thetime of his death in Feb- ruary 1994, he was puttingthe finishing touches on the final versionof the manuscript. At the request of the Berlin family, andwith generous support from a number of people at Purdue and elsewhere, we wereable to finalize the changes Professor Berlin had made in thatpenultimate version and sub- sequently to see the project through productionand into print. To the list of names Professor Berlin included inhis acknowledgments, there- fore, I would add the following: PatriciaHarkin, John Trimbur, and Vic- tor Vitanza, for help with sources;Gary Beason, for technical support; and especially Karen Kura lt, for herpainstaking (and often ingenious) work verifying quotations and citations. 1.am verygrateful to all of these people, and I know Jim would be as well.Finally, Professor Berlin's family and I want to offer special thanks to JaniceLauer, without whose stead- fast commitment and thoughtful guidance thisproject could never have been brought to fruition. Stephen M. North Series Editor vii Acknowledgments I would like to thank the PurdueCenter for Humanistic Study for a semester's support and Purdue Universityfor a sabbatical semester, both of which came at crucial times in thework on this manuscript.
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