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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 444 190 CS 217 248 AUTHOR Graham, Bonny, Ed. TITLE Trends & Issues in Postsecondary English Studies, 2000 Edition. INSTITUTION National Council of Teachers of English, Urbana, IL. ISBN ISBN-0-8141-5515-4 ISSN ISSN-1527-4241 PUB DATE 2000-00-00 NOTE 266p.; See ED 434 340 for 1999 edition. AVAILABLE FROM National Council of Teachers of English, 1111 W. Kenyon Road, Urbana, IL 61801-1096 (Stock No. 55154-3050: $14.95 members, $19.95 nonmembers). Tel: 800-369-6283 (Toll Free); Web site: http://www.ncte.org. PUB TYPE Collected Works - General (020) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC11 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Educational Technology; *English Curriculum; *English Instruction; Feminism; Higher Education; *Literature Appreciation; Portfolios (Background Materials); Racial Bias; Social Change; Social Class; Student Evaluation; World Wide Web; *Writing Evaluation; *Writing Instruction IDENTIFIERS African Americans ABSTRACT This publication contains journal essays and book chapters (from publications of the National Council of Teachers of English) concerning trends and issues in postsecondary English studies. The publication's first section, "Race/Class/Gender Positions,' contains ':he following articles: (1) "On the Rhetoric and Precedents of Racism" (Victor Villanueva); (2) "Feminism in Composition: Inclusion, Metonymy, and Disruption" (Joy Ritchie and Kathleen Boardman); (3) "Class Ethos and the Politics of Inquiry: What the Barroom Can Teach Us about the Classroom" (Julie Lindquist); and (4) "History in the Spaces Left: African American Presence and Narratives of Composition Studies" (Jacqueline Jones Royster and Jean C. Williams). Articles in the second section, "Assessment," are: (5) "Looking Back as We Look Forward: Historicizing Writing Assessment" (Kathleen Blake Yancey); (6) "Views from the Underside: Proficiency Portfolios in First-Year Composition" (Alexis Nelson); (7) "Whose Portfolio Is It Anyway? Dilemmas of Professional Portfolio Building" (Sue Ruskin-Mayher); and (8)"Inside the Portfolio Experience: The Student's Perspective"(C. Beth Burch). Articles in the third section, "Technology," are: (9) "Distant Voices: Teaching and Writing in a Culture of Technology" (Chris M. Anson);(10) "Technology and Literacy: A Story about the Perils of Not Paying Attention" (Cynthia L. Selfe); (11)"The Shared Discourse of the Networked Computer Classroom" (L. Lennie Irvin); and (12) "The Craft of Teaching and the World Wide Web: A Reference Essay for Educators" (Kevin M. Leander). (SR) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best thatcan be made from the original document. .....-441ftw....400*....-Ariewe---4410*.--4401110ke,..4411W5 Alk A U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND CENTER (ERIC) DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS This document has been reproduced as BEEN GRANTED BY received from the person or organization originating it Minor changes have been made to )14. Hvev improve reproduction quality Points of view or opinions stated in this TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) 00 C\1 2 T DS IS ES IN POSTSECONDARY ENGLISH STUDIES 2000 EDITION NATIONAL COUNCIL OF TEACHERS OF ENGLISH 1111 W. KENYON ROAD, URBANA, ILLINOIS 61801-1096 0 Staff Editor: Bonny Graham Interior Design: Tom Kovacs for TGK Design; Carlton Bruett Cover Design: Carlton Bruett NCTE Stock Number: 55154-3050 ISSN 1527-4241 ©2000 by the National Council of Teachers of English. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the copyright holder. Printed in the United States of America. It is the policy of NCTE in its journals and other publications to provide a forum for the open discussion of ideas concerning the content and the teaching of English and the language arts. Publicity accorded to any particular point of view does not imply endorsement by the Executive Committee, the Board of Directors, or the membership at large, except in announcements of policy, where such endorsement is clearly specified. TRENDS AND ISSUES Keeping track of the myriad issues in education can be a daunting task for those educators already stretched to fit thirty hours into a twenty-four-hour day. In an effort to inform and support English educators, the National Council of Teachers of English annually offers this volume featuring current trends and issues deemed vital to the professional conversation by our membership at large. Whether specialists or generalists, teachers know that no single "trend" or "issue" could touch the interests and concerns of all members of NCTE; with these booksone for each section of the Council: Elementary Secondary, Postsecondarywe aim to chronicle developments in the teaching and learning of English language arts. The wealth of NCTE publications from which to draw the materials for Trends and Issues proves a double-edged sword. Publishing thirteen journals (bimonthly and quarterly) and twenty to twenty-five books annually provides ample content, yet what to include and what not? Of course, timeliness and pertinence to the issues of the day help shape the book, and, more important, we aim to meet our primary goal: to answer the question, Is this valuable to our members? This edition of Trends and Issues offers readers a seat at the table, a chance to join the discussion. At the postsecondary level, the trends and issues cited for this year are "Race/Class/Gender Positions," "Technology," and "Writing Assessment." At the secondary level, members cited "The World Wide Web in the Classroom," "The Reemergence of Critical Literacy," and "Aesthetic Appreciation versus Critical Interrogation" as those topics of current relevance to them as English language arts professionals. At the elementary level, the trends and issues encompass "Writing and a Move to New Literacies," "Critical Literacy" and "Taking New Action." We hope that you'll find this collection a valuable resource to be returned to often, one that facilitates professional development and reminds us that we all have a stake in the language arts profession. NCTE invites you to send us those trends and issues in the English language arts that you feel are the most relevant to your teaching. Send your comments either to our Web site at www.ncte.org or e-mail directly to Paul Bodmer at [email protected]. Paul Bodmer Associate Executive Director iii CONTENTS Introduction I. RACE/CLASS/GENDER POSITIONS 1. On the Rhetoric and Precedents of Racism 3 Victor Villanueva 2. Feminism in Composition: Inclusion, Metonymy, and Disruption 21 Joy Ritchie and Kathleen Boardman 3. Class Ethos and the Politics of Inquiry: What the Barroom Can Teach Us about the Classroom 46 Julie Lindquist 4. History in the Spaces Left: African American Presence and Narratives of Composition Studies 72 Jacqueline Jones Royster and Jean C. Williams II. ASSESSMENT 5. Looking Back as We Look Forward: Historicizing Writing Assessment 99 Kathleen Blake Yancey 6. Views from the Underside: Proficiency Portfolios in First-Year Composition 123 Alexis Nelson 7. Whose Portfolio Is It Anyway? Dilemmas of Professional Portfolio Building 137 Sue Ruskin-Mayher 8. Inside the Portfolio Experience: The Student's Perspective 148 C. Beth Burch v vi III. TECHNOLOGY 9. Distant Voices: Teaching and Writing in a Culture of Technology 167 Chris M. Anson 10. Technology and Literacy: A Story about the Perils of Not Paying Attention 190 Cynthia L. Selfe 11. The Shared Discourse of the Networked Computer Classroom 219 L. Lennie Irvin 12. The Craft of Teaching and the World Wide Web: A Reference Essay for Educators 229 Kevin M. Leander 7 INTRODUCTION ,.,4cEIWIW A fictionalized and often romanticized segment of U.S. history is the mountain man era of the early nineteenth century. Often based on the real- life adventures of actual fur traders and mountain men, most of these people would have been considered illiterate by today's standards, and possibly only signature literate in their own day. A common description of a good mountain man, however, is that he could "read" sign. If he could not read sign, he did not survive. Reading sign was a complex activity that included choosing the right river valley to follow (whether he stayed on the main river or chose a tributary) to reach his destination; knowing whether the clouds on the edge of the horizon meant a thundershower that would cause the creek he was camping by to rise; and constantly scanning the horizon for signs of other life that might be dangerous, friendly, or food. Just as the mountain man interpreted his environment in order to survive, we interpret language. If literacy in a larger sense is the skill to interpret, through our senses, the environment surrounding us, then literacy skills must be learned in order to survive in our environment. Aiding literacy are the tools of that literacy, whether they be weather forecasting, telescopes, printed matter from printing presses, or the digitized images on a screen. Those who are allowed, or taught, to use the literacy tools of our society become the leaders of the culture and the possessors of the literacy. This is simply common sense. What is important is how the tools are made available. If we allow only a small percentage of our population to attend school and learn to read (males of the upper class, for instance), then our literacy and culture will be controlled by those few. Cynthia Selfe tells us in her 1998 Conference on College Composition and Communication chair's address that the same argument is being made with regard to digital literacy. It is imperative, she says, that we pay attention to whatever tools of literacy are part of our culture, because enfranchising some people and disenfranchising others from those tools create the culture we may or may not want to have. The idea that literacy is defined by who has access to that literacy ties together the three sections of this volume of Trends and Issues.