INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely afreet reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back o f the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6” x 9” black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMI A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor MI 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 COMMUNITIES IN CONFLICT: COMPOSITION, RACIAL DISCOURSE, AND THE ‘60S "REVOLUTION" DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of the Ohio State University By Timothy Paul Barnett, M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 1997 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Professor Andrea Lunsford, Adviser Professor H. Lewis Ulman Adviser Professor E. Kay Halasek Department of English UMI Number: 9801639 tnvn Microform 9801639 Copyright 1997, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 ABSTRACT Long at the center o f political and social controversies, composition is an academic discipline particularly responsive to social influences. Its focus on language leaves it open to contention, and at no time was this contention more pronounced than in the 1960s, when students and radical groups questioned educational and political norms at the university. This dissertation focuses on the University of Washington Writing Program between 1968 and 1972 to explore the questions that were raised in terms of race and to understand why the promised educational "revolution" of the 1960s inspired only limited change. The University of Washington began an Educational Opportunity Program for minority students in 1968, and composition was central to this program. A look at University representations of Black-White conflict at this time reflects the ways the University constructed discourses of "blackness" and "whiteness" that both acknowledged rapidly changing notions of education and democracy and maintained existing educational norms and power relations. In a departure from traditional composition histories, this dissertation focuses on unpublished University documents to reveal the way the University administration, the Writing Program, and specific writing classes constructed differing norms for White and Black. White students were represented as "regular" and "ordinary," when they were represented in University discourse at all; they were the unmarked norm by which the University measured all other students. Such students were constructed as apolitical, individual, and hardworking—as somehow separate from social and political spheres. Opposed to this mythological student was a "new breed" of minority students, who were entering the University in unprecedented numbers as a result of Civil Rights victories. The University constructed African American students as overly concerned with politics, as confrontational, and as individuals defined by their racial communities. This dissertation advocates further examination into racial discrepancies in composition history and in the multiple sites of writing instruction today. It proposes a re­ examination of the way composition has reified limiting notions of "blackness" and "whiteness" so that writing education will help students adapt to existing political realities as it also provides tools to change these realities and promote invigorated notions of democracy. Ill Dedicated with love and admiration for my parents, George and Eileen Barnett, whose 50 years together have created many possibilities. I am grateful to be one of those possibilities and hope to live up to the high standards they set every day of their lives. IV Acknowledgments Many people have made this dissertation possible, and I am very grateful for the support and love given me throughout my life. In particular, when my life became especially difBcult trying to move and graduate this past summer, 1 realized how lucky I am to have family and friends who refused to let me handle everything alone. Teaching has made this research worthwhile, and I will never forget the many exceptional students I have met at Ohio State and Wittenberg Universities. There are few places I would rather be than in the classroom, and these students taught me the many values of writing, the pain of change, and the rewards o f learning through teaching. The “group” has given me a base from which to grow and made it possible for me to take chances and find a comfortable niche in life. They helped shape me growing up and will always be a significant part of who I am. Thanks especially to the Hennesseys, Woslegers, Fallons, Hawks, Farrises, Kovaleskis, Trefrys, and Amicuccis for providing me friendship and support that contribute to my life every day. In particular Laurie always kept in touch and shared group gossip with me; her regular phone calls made me feel a part of things. And Patty always believed in me and went out of her way to understand how and why I do the things I do. I know I still might not make perfect sense to her, but I am always extremely thankful for her willingness to ask me questions about my life and work and for Jim's and her ability to create the type of home I will always want to visit. The Columbus group—Rod Green, David Whitehair, David Ray, Jim Francis, and Jeff France—is also very important to me, and I will greatly miss our dinners together. They have provided an alternative to school work over the past few years and made me realize how much a part of "real life" my dissertation work is; our discussions about race and gender have had a significant impact on the way I think about these issues. They have also moved me, put me up when I needed a place to stay, and helped me with numerous computer and "life" problems. I hope I find similar fiiends in the future, but know I will never replace them. Thanks in particular to George Bridges, who has taught me more than most teachers I have had. I especially appreciate the times he was willing to explore difBcult issues because, even when they were painful, I learned and grew fi-om them. He told me once I should keep track of my personal pursuit of race so that I could talk about it with others in the "White community." This dissertation is an attempt at that and owes a great deal to him. Amy and Jim Kamm provided a place to stay and a great time on my research visits to Seattle and, more important, ongoing support and interest in my life. They are generous fiiends and very important to me; without them, this project never could have happened. Amy's acute intelligence and intense caring have especially pushed me and helped me believe in myself and in the value of teaching what I believe. VI Drs. Maribeth MulhoUand and Jim Hodnett exemplify for me the idea of caring professionals, and I will never forget the patience, thoroughness, honesty, and decency they showed when working with me. Without them, my years in graduate school would have been much more difBcult, and I hope I can bring to teaching the same kind of humanity they bring to their work. I also appreciate the willingness o f William Irmscher and Malcolm GriflBth to speak with me about their experiences when I was in Seattle, and George Slangefs continued e- mail correspondence with me regarding the UW Writing Program. Their insights and generosity helped me realize how easy it is to be critical of educational efforts at change and how hard it is to create real change that works in everyone's best interest. Many graduate students and faculty members have also contributed to my graduate work and personal life, and I have been lucky to work with individuals interested in exploring the true possibilities of collaboration. Susan Kates, Susan West, Jean Williams, Mindy Wright, Scott Miller, Todd English, Chris De Vinne, Marsha Ryan, Donna Le Court, and Lori Mathis have been especially generous with their friendship, advice, and intelligent critiques of my life and work. Professors Beverly Moss, Jacqueline Jones- Royster, Suellynn Dufifey, Brenda Brueggemann, Jim Phelan, and many others have provided the kind of role models I hope to emulate. Carol Patzkowsky provided me a fiiendship I won’t forget and confirmed my idea that my personal life and professional interests could work together in important ways. Wade Williams and Susan Wagner kept me sane this past year with the alternative housing they provided and their consistent optimism and generosity. I especially appreciate the vii fact that they gave me encouragement I truly believed in, and that they made it easy to ask for any kind of help I needed.