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Writing Instruction in American Colleges, 1900-1985. Studies in Writing & Rhetoric DOCUMENT RESUME ED 284 257 CS 210 701 AUTHOR Berlin, James A. TITLE Rhetoric and Reality: Writing Instruction in American Colleges, 1900-1985. Studies in Writing & Rhetoric. INSTITUTION Conference on Coll. Composition and Communication, Urbana, Ill. REPORT NO ISBN-0-8093-1360-X PUB DATE 87 NOTE 237p.; Foreword by Donald C. Stewart. AVAILABLE FROMSouthern Illinois University Press, P.0 Box 3697, Carbondale, IL 62901 ($8.50). PUB TYPE Books (010) -- Information Analyses (070) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC10 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Classroom Techniques; *College English; *Educational History; Educational Philosophy; *Epistemology; *Expository Writing; Higher Education; *Rhetoric; Theory Practice Relationship; Writing (Composition); Writing Instruction IDENTIFIERS *Rhetorical Theory ABSTRACT Intended for teachers of college composition, this history of major and minor developments in the teaching of writing in twentieth-century American colleges employs a taxonomy of theories based on the three epistemological categories (objective, subjective, and transactional) dominating rhetorical theory and practice. The first section of the book provides an overview of the three theories, specifically their assumptions and rhetorics. The main chapterscover the following topics: (1) the nineteenth-century background, on the formation of the English department and the subsequent relationship of rhetoric and poetic; (2) the growth of the discipline (1900-1920), including the formation of the National Council of Teachers of English, the appearance of the major schools of rhetoric, the efficiency movement, graduate education in rhetoric, undergraduate courses and the Great War; (3) the influence of progressive education (1920-1940), including the writing program and current-traditional rhetoric, liberal culture, and expressionistic and social rhetoric; (4) the communication emphasis (1940-1960), including the communications course, the founding of the Conference on College Composition and Communication, literature and composition, linguistics and composition, and the revival of rhetoric; and (5) the renaissance of rhetoric and major rhetorical approaches (1960-1975), including contemporary theories based on the three epistemic categories. A final chapter briefly surveys developments through 1987. (JG) *********************************************************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document. * *********************************************************************** 1. U.8 DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) 141iiitis document has been reproduced as eived from the person or organization originating it. Ci Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction Quality Pointed view or opinions stated in this docu- ment do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)." 0 Sn Li Rhetoric and Reality Writing Instniction in American Colleges, 1900-1985 James A. Berlin WITH A FOREWORD BY DONALD C. STEWART Published for the Conference on College Composition and Communication SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY PRESS Carbondale and Edwardsville 4 Production of works in this series has been partly funded bythe Conference on (.:ollege Composition and Comilmnicalion ofthe National Council (,rTeachers of English. Copyright © 1987 by the Conferenceon College (.omposition and Communication All rights reserved Printed in the United Statcs of America Editedby Mari/yrB. Doris Designedby Cesign for Publishing, inc.. Bob Name Production supervised by Natalia Nadraga 90898887 43 2 / Library of Congress Cataloging-in-PublicationData Berlin. James A. Rhet;irie and reality. (8Iudies in writing & rhetoric) -Published for the Conferenceon College Composition and Connounication.- Bibliography: p. Includes Mdes. 1.English languageRhetoricStudy and teaching. United StatesIlistory. 1. Conference on College Composition and Communication (U.S.)II. Title. III. Series. PE1405.U6B473 1987 808..042071173 86-20428 ISBN 0-80V3-1360-X 5 To Sam, Dan the Man, and Captain Christopher Contents FOREWORD by Donald C. Stewart ix ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xiii 1. An Overview 1 Theories of Rhetoric6 Objective Theories 7 Subjective TlworiesIi Transactional Theories 15 2. The Nineteenth-Century Background20 Rhetoric and Poetic in the English Department15 3. The Growth of the Discipline: 1900-1920 32 The NCTE 33 The Major Schools35 Current-Traditional Rhetoric36 The Rhetoric of Liberal Culture43 A Transactional Rhetoric for a Democracy46 The IdeasApproach51 The Efficiency Movement 53 Graduate EducationinRhetoric54 Undergraduate Writing Courses55 The Great War 56 4. The Influence of Progressive Education: 1920-1940 58 The Surveys61 The Writing Program and Current-Traditional Rhetoric65 Liberal Culture71 Expressionistic Rhetoric73 Social Rhetoric81 Conclusion90 viii Contents 5. The Communications Emphasis:1940-196092 The Communications Course93 The CCCC 104 Literature and Composition107 Linguistics and Composition 111 The Revival of Rhetoric115 6. The Renaissance of Rhetoric:1960-1975120 7. Major Rhetorical Approaches:1960-1975139 Objective Rhetoric140 Subjective Rhetoric145 Transactional Rhetoric155 Classical Rhetoric155 The Rhetoric of Cognitive Psychology159 Episternic Rhetoric165 8. Conclusion and Postscripton the Present 180 WORKS CrrED 191 INDEX 217 Foreword Donald C. Stewart BECAUSE I BELIEVE THAT IGNORANCE OF THE HISTORY OFOUR profession, particularly ignorance of the history of writing instruc- tion, is the single greatest deficiency in the majority of this nation's English teachers, and because I belieNe thatwe have just come through a remarkable period in which we have reexamined andre- evaluated many old assumptions about the teaching of writing and have thus arrived at a moment of temporary intellectual exhaustion, poised to retreat and retrench once again, James Berlin's Rhetoric and Reality: Writing Instruction in American Colleges, 1900-1985 anives at a most opportune time. In this work, an extension of his earlier monograph, WritingIn- struction in Nineteenth-Century American Colleges, Berlin identi- fies three epistemological categoriesobjective, subjective, and transactionalthat have dominated rhetorical theory and practice in the twentieth century. "I have chosen epistemology rather than ideology as the basis for my taxonomy," hesays, "...because it allows for a closer focus on the rhetorical propertiesas distinct from the economic, social, or political propertiesof thesystems considered." But he does not neglect ideology and inso doing chal- lenges his readers to examine not only the epistemology thatin- forms but the ideology that is served by what they do. day by day,in the composition classroom. For example, composition teaching which places greatest emphasis on copyreading skills and limited conceptt of usage and organization, whetheror not one wishes to call it current-traditional (recent bantering about the validity ofthe terms, "current-traditional," should not draw our attention away from the fact that whatever one wishes to call it,it is a pedagogy 9 Foreword which is deeply rooted still in the American highschool and college classroom), is grounded in a positivist epistemologywhich assumes that reality is located in an empirically verifiablematerial world which it is the duty of a writer torepresent as accurately as possible. Furthermore, this kind of composition teachinghas been popular because it serves an upwardly mobile managerialclass in our society. In addition to current traditional rhetoric, Berlinfinds three other objective rhetoricsbehaviorist,semanticist, and linguis- ticappearing in this century. Asone would expect, Korzybski, Hayakawa, Fries, Chomsky, Skinner, andZoe Ilner all receive atten- tion in this section. I might add that his analysis ofZoellner's contro- versialCollege Englishmonograph (January 1969) is the first really intelligent assessment of that work and its placein twentieth cen- tury composition theory and practice that I haveseen. His second category, subjective theories, which "locatetruth ei- ther within the individualor within a realm that is accessible only through the individual's internal apprehension,"have their roots in Platonic idealism modified somewhat byEmerson and Thoreau in the nineteenth century and encouraged bytwentieth-century depth psychology. The best-known recent advocates ofthe subjective ap- proach are D. Gordon Rohman and Albert0. Wlecke whose work with prewriting representeda sharp and distinctive break away from current-traditional rhetoric. Berlin defines the third of his categories."transactional theo- ries." as those which "are basedon an epistemology that sees truth as aiiig out of the interaction of the elements of therhetorical situation." Included ir thisgroup are classical, cognitive, and epis- temic rhetorics, the last of which is clearlymost congenial to him. The organization of the book is straightforward.After his over- view of the entire work, Berlin summarizes the nineteenthcentury background and then takes up the various rhetoricaltheories he de- fines, in twenty-year blocks from 1900to 1960, and in the fifteen- year period from 1960 to 1975. He concludes withsome generaliza- tions about developments from 1975 to 1985. I find it difficult to express fullymy admiration for the work that James Berlin has done. The scope cf this projectis huge
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