Flow Theory: Conscious Experience in Expository
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FLOW THEORY: CONSCIOUS EXPERIENCE IN EXPOSITORY ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING by NAOMI IGARASHI TAKAGI Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation Adviser: Dr. Todd Oakley Department of English CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY May, 2009 CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES We hereby approve the thesis/dissertation of _____________________________________________________ candidate for the ______________________degree *. (signed)_______________________________________________ (chair of the committee) ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ (date) _______________________ *We also certify that written approval has been obtained for any proprietary material contained therein. Table of contents List of figures 6 Acknowledgements 7 Abstract 9 1 Introduction 11 2 The study of consciousness: From William James to Wallace Chafe 20 2.1 Introduction 20 2.2 An overview of the study of consciousness 22 2.3 Chafe’s theory of discourse 35 2.4 Relations of Chafe’s theory to other studies of consciousness 46 2.5 Summary 49 3 Flow theory 50 3.1 Introduction 50 3.2 Spoken and written discourse 50 3.3 Argument overview 53 3.4 Coherence and cohesion 59 3.5 Principles of flow in argumentative writing 66 3.5.1 Topic development 68 3.5.2 The light subject constraint 78 3.5.3 The one new idea constraint 83 3.6 Summary 91 3 4 Applications of flow theory to argumentative writing by ESL students 93 4.1 Introduction 93 4.2 Fact & definition argument 94 4.2.1 Topic development 96 4.2.2 The light subject constraint 98 4.2.3 The one new idea constraint 102 4.3 Causal argument 109 4.3.1 Topic development 113 4.3.2 The light subject constraint 115 4.3.3 The one new idea constraint 119 4.4 Evaluation argument 124 4.4.1 Topic development 127 4.4.2 The light subject constraint 130 4.4.3 The one new idea constraint 133 4.5 Proposal argument 139 4.5.1 Topic development 143 4.5.2 The light subject constraint 144 4.5.3 The one new idea constraint 146 4.6 Summary 150 5 Teaching implications and future research projects 152 5.1 Introduction 152 5.2 Teaching philosophy 152 5.3 Teaching method 157 4 5. 4 Limitations of the current study and flow theory 169 5. 5 Future research projects 172 5.5.1 Expansion of flow theory 172 5.5.2 Contrastive rhetoric 179 5.6 Summary 183 6 Epilogue 185 Appendix A 189 Appendix B 190 Appendix C 191 Appendix D 192 References 193 5 List of figures 2.1 Flow of consciousness 36 2.2 Flow of discourse 41 3.1 Kinneavy’s communication triangle 55 3.2 Topic development of Lewis’s argument against tipping 69 3.3 Conditions, influences, and precipitating causes 72 3.4 Chain of causes 72 3.5 Chain of causes in Lewis’s causal analysis 74 4.1 Schema of the sample causal argument 110 4.2 Topic development of the sample evaluation argument 128 5.1 Macro flow, micro flow, and their constituents 159 5.2 Canonical topic development of an argument 159 6 Acknowledgements I owe a debt of gratitude to a number of people who have supported me in the process of completing this dissertation. However, there are several people whom I would like to acknowledge individually. First of all, I am deeply grateful to my dissertation advisor, Professor Todd Oakley, for his direction and encouragement during the long process of working on this project. It has been a privilege to receive his guidance, and I will aspire to emulate his patience and helpfulness as a teacher as well as his knowledge and productiveness as a scholar. My heartfelt appreciation also goes out to my other committee members: to Professor Kimberly Emmons who has been extremely generous with her time and provided me with crucial advice for improving my dissertation; to Professor Judith Oster whose willingness to recognize effort has given me hope on many occasions; and to Professor Per Aage Brandt for his insightful comments that allowed me to view this project in a broader perspective. I am deeply indebted to the entire faculty of the English Department for their openness, understanding, and support throughout my study at Case Western Reserve University. Special gratitude is also extended to Betty & Roger Salomon, Judith Olson-Fallon, Elise Lindsey, and Jane Daroff who have provided me with generous support and valuable assistance—their kindness will always be remembered. I also owe many thanks to Christina Hebebrand, Asdghig Karajayerlian, Maria Assif, and Katherine Clark. They have greatly enriched my life in graduate school, and I will cherish their wonderful friendship for years to come. Finally, I am very thankful to my parents, Katsue & Tatsuo Igarashi, and my brothers, Norio and Masato, who have insisted that I continue what I have started “until 7 the end.” Their tacit but steadfast support and belief in me have been indispensable for the completion of this project. Many thanks are also due to my late grandparents for their warmest love and protection—their presence is always felt close to my heart. I am also deeply grateful to my American parents, Sharon & Ernoe Csaky. They took me in their home when I was a high school exchange student and have guided me ever since with exceptional love and wisdom. My pursuit of higher degrees in the United States would have been simply impossible without their unwavering support. Last but not least, I want to express my heartfelt thanks to my husband Toru and our son Leo. Their beautiful smiles and warm affection are the source my infinite happiness. 8 Flow Theory: Conscious Experience in Expository Argumentative Writing Abstract by NAOMI IGARASHI TAKAGI In composition classrooms, the word “flow” is frequently used as shorthand for good writing in students’ and teachers’ comments alike, but its state of affair rarely draws scholarly attention, leaving it ambiguous and impressionistic. This dissertation makes a preliminary attempt to define flow in written discourse especially from the perspective of consciousness. The relation between consciousness and discourse has already been established by the linguist Wallace Chafe who claims that “language is one of the most obvious products of the human mind” and explains the ways in which the nature of consciousness translates into discourse (1973, p. 261). According to Chafe, “flow” is one of such manifestations, and he describes it in terms of the three principles: topic hierarchy, the light subject constraint, and the one new idea constraint. His discussion of these principles, however, is mostly focused on natural spoken language; hence, this dissertation examines their applicability to expository writing, specifically written argument, a mode of writing widely taught in college composition. To that end, Chafe’s theory will be contextualized in the history of consciousness studies and examined in its connections to the work of William James, Bernard Baars, and Merlin Donald. Then, several modifications will be made to Chafe’s theory, including adoption of the clause as the carrier of a new idea and the Stasis as the organizational framework for argumentative 9 writing. Subsequently, the relevance of flow theory will be explored with the use of a paragon argument by a professional writer as well as arguments composed by ESL students. Some of the key findings include that flow in argumentative writing is at least partially due to coordinated implementation of the three principles and that nonnative speakers of English tend to have difficulty with flow because they lack intuitive understanding of the ways in which consciousness manifests itself in English discourse. Finally, given the importance of flow theory for nonnative speakers of English, implications of adopting flow theory in ESL/EFL classrooms will be discussed. This dissertation will close by proposing future research projects such as expanding the existing flow theory and examining students’ cultural, linguistic, and educational backgrounds. 10 1 Introduction In the composition classroom, the word “flow” is often used as shorthand for good writing. Comments such as “You have a good sense of flow” or “I have difficulty writing flowing sentences” can be easily found in teachers’ and students’ evaluations alike. Yet what is flow? Despite its ubiquity, when we try to pinpoint its meaning, the word seems surprisingly elusive. This elusiveness is partly because the phenomenon of flow has drawn little attention in the fields of rhetoric and composition, text linguistics, or discourse analysis. In fact, it is rare to find studies that focus on understanding and explaining this phenomenon. Composition textbooks and handbooks are not much help either. Many of them do not discuss this phenomenon, and even if they do, their explanations tend to vary and no consistent explanation emerges out of them. For instance, some textbooks explain flow in terms of effective use of linking words and phrases (Swales & Feak, 2004). Some handbooks associate flow with “coherence,” explaining that flow is created through logical organization, repetition of key terms, and parallel sentence structures as well as the use of transition signals (Hacker, 2002; Lunsford, 2005; Maimon, Peritz, & Yancy, 2007). Others connect flow with “cohesion,” which results from adhering to the known-new contract (Kolln, 2007; Williams, 2007), accommodating reader expectations, using metadiscourse, and so on (Kolln, 2007). Thus, despite its frequent use, the concept of flow has been understudied and defined variedly; hence, a theory and method of approaching this phenomenon is not only desirable but necessary. Among a number of possible approaches, the current study argues that consciousness is the key for understanding the phenomenon of flow. Consciousness is an 11 important factor in this phenomenon because our recognition of flow is highly intuitive; we identify flow when thoughts are spelled out in a sensible and seamless manner and when we feel natural congruence with the way the text unfolds.