Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 9-15-2014 12:00 AM What is Writing in Undergraduate Anthropology? An Activity Theory Analysis Boba M. Samuels The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Rosamund Stooke The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Education A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Doctor of Philosophy © Boba M. Samuels 2014 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Educational Methods Commons, Educational Psychology Commons, Higher Education Commons, Other Anthropology Commons, and the Speech and Rhetorical Studies Commons Recommended Citation Samuels, Boba M., "What is Writing in Undergraduate Anthropology? An Activity Theory Analysis" (2014). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 2419. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/2419 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. What is writing in undergraduate anthropology? An activity theory analysis. (Monograph) by Boba M. Samuels Graduate Program in Education A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada © Boba M. Samuels 2014 i Abstract How students learn to write in the disciplines is a question of ongoing concern in writing studies, with practical implications for academia. This case study used ethnographic methods to explore undergraduate writing in two upper year anthropology courses at a Canadian university over one term (four months). Student and professor interviews, classroom field notes, surveys, and students’ final papers were analysed using a framework drawn from activity theory and informed by genre theory. Four themes emerged from the data: anthropology as school; the familiar vs. unfamiliar; reading; and hidden rhetoric. Findings suggest students approach disciplinary work primarily as students rather than emerging professionals, and this role is adopted because it is familiar and few opportunities are provided to practice other professional activities. Extensive reading was seen as important by students and professors. Students demonstrated high skill levels in finding and using sources, but expressed frustration and resistance to the use of discipline-specific jargon, especially that of theoretical/sociocultural anthropology. While professors linked extensive reading with writing development, students did not make this connection. The rhetorical nature of literacy tasks was largely overlooked or hidden, and explicit instruction on disciplinary writing was infrequently provided to students, who felt they were expected to already know how to write research papers. Analysis of student papers showed a variety of rhetorical moves in their introductions, though familiar academic moves such as including a thesis statement were seen frequently while more sophisticated moves such as establishing ethos were little seen. Papers that used more sources and were longer received higher grades. Overall, students ii demonstrated a range of levels of writing development and disciplinary enculturation. The activity theory framework used in this project was useful in providing a model to structure analysis. Its explanatory power, however, is limited unless an alternate conceptualization of activity (such as Ilyenkov’s) is used that integrates the notion of genre as social action. In conclusion, adequate study of activities such as disciplinary writing requires theoretical and methodological complexity and is best conducted in research collaborations that include expertise in a variety of methods and from a variety of approaches. Keywords writing in the disciplines (WID), activity theory, genre, anthropology, academic writing, Ilyenkov, university education, ethnography iii Dedication This work is dedicated in memory of my husband, Noel Samuels, and my father, Richard Marcinowski. They would have been so proud. iv Acknowledgments The completion of this dissertation has been nothing like I thought and planned. That it is completed at all is testament to the generous support and encouragement I received from many people, some of whom I acknowledge here, and others who are no less appreciated though they are not named. My sincere thanks to: Dr. Rosamund Stooke. Your patient support and supervision allowed me to complete this work in the time I needed. Your insight made it a better work. Donna Kotsopoulos. Though much of your advice was in Macedonian, I do know what you meant, and your unceasing faith in my abilities kept me going. Jordana Garbati, Nora Findlay, Louise Buck, and Donna Kelly. My dearest friends, who gave me encouragement, food, drink, criticism, advice, fun, and distractions. This work would not have been worth doing if I hadn’t known you would be waiting for me when it was finished. Jordana, your job is done! My mother, Halina Marcinowski, and my children, Genevieve, Marc, and Jordan Samuels. You have been quietly supporting me at home for longer than I can remember, and you bore much of my neglect. I am forever grateful. My committee members, Dr. Catharine Schryer and Dr. Regna Darnell, who read my work and provided their advice and shared their expertise. My examining committee, Dr. Jill McClay, Dr. Carole Farber, Dr. Rebecca Coulter, and Dr. Kathy Hibbert, whose questions and ideas sparked new thoughts on so many things. v To Perry Klein, who provided much early mentorship and was instrumental in helping me develop this project. To my colleagues at Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Western Ontario and in the academic writing community, who shared reminders of why this work needed doing. vi Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments............................................................................................................... v Table of Contents .............................................................................................................. vii List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... ix List of Figures ..................................................................................................................... x List of Appendices ............................................................................................................. xi Chapter 1: The Problem ..................................................................................................... 1 Historical Perspectives on Academic Writing ............................................................... 2 My Research Questions.................................................................................................. 8 Thesis Overview............................................................................................................. 9 Chapter 2: Theoretical Perspectives ................................................................................. 11 Orientation.................................................................................................................... 11 Sociocultural Approaches to Human Activity ............................................................. 12 Sociocultural Approaches to Language and Literacy .................................................. 15 Sociocultural Approaches to Learning ......................................................................... 20 Situated learning ....................................................................................................... 20 Distributed cognition ................................................................................................ 21 Academic literacies ................................................................................................... 22 Activity Theory ............................................................................................................ 23 Genre Theory ............................................................................................................... 28 Chapter 3: Literature Review ............................................................................................ 33 Orientation.................................................................................................................... 33 The Acquisition of Disciplinary Genres ...................................................................... 33 Studies Using Activity Theory ..................................................................................... 39 Summary of Research Literature ................................................................................. 42 Chapter 4: Methodology ................................................................................................... 44 Orientation.................................................................................................................... 44 Methodological Approaches .......................................................................................