A History of Writing Instruction for Jamaican University Students: A Case for Moving beyond the Rhetoric of Transparent Disciplinarity at The University of the West Indies, Mona Item Type text; Electronic Dissertation Authors Milson-Whyte, Vivette Ruth Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 01/10/2021 13:08:00 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/194079 A HISTORY OF WRITING INSTRUCTION FOR JAMAICAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: A CASE FOR MOVING BEYOND THE RHETORIC OF TRANSPARENT DISCIPLINARITY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES, MONA by Vivette Milson-Whyte __________________________ A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the ENGLISH DEPARTMENT In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN RHETORIC, COMPOSITION, AND THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2008 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Dissertation Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by Vivette Milson-Whyte entitled “A History of Writing Instruction for Jamaican University Students: A Case for Moving beyond the Rhetoric of Transparent Disciplinarity at The University of the West Indies, Mona” and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Rhetoric, Composition, and the Teaching of English. ________________________________________________________ Date: 9 April 2008 Thomas P. Miller ________________________________________________________ Date: 9 April 2008 Anne-Marie Hall ________________________________________________________ Date: 9 April 2008 Geta LeSeur Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate’s submission of the final copies of the dissertation to the Graduate College. I hereby certify that I have read this dissertation prepared under my direction and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement. ________________________________________________________ Date: 9 April 2008 Dissertation Director: Thomas P. Miller 3 STATEMENT BY THE AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at the University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in his or her judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. SIGNED: Vivette Milson-Whyte 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Several organizations and individuals contributed to the completion of this dissertation, and I wish to express my profound gratitude to them: - the J. William Fulbright Scholarship Board for offering me a Fulbright-LASPAU grant to finance the first two years of my doctoral program in the US. - the cultural affairs representatives in the Office of Public Affairs at the American Embassy in Jamaica for coordinating the competition for these grants, arranging travel to the US, and providing other forms of support. - the program advisors/assistants in the LASPAU office in Massachusetts and representatives in International Student Programs and Services at The University of Arizona for assisting with the transition to Tucson and assuring smooth progress in various ways throughout the duration of my studies. - my home institution, The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, for awarding me leave and a grant to assist with completing doctoral studies. - the Registrar at Mona for permission to use the campus as a site for my study. - personnel in the archives, Documentation Centre, main library, and Registry Records at Mona for assisting me in locating and/or reproducing research materials. - the Department of Language, Linguistics & Philosophy, UWI, Mona: heads, past and present, for encouragement in ways they may be unaware of; members of the departmental office; and lecturers and instructors, past and present, who graciously participated in the study and/or encouraged my endeavors. - the Housing Office, UWI, Mona for helping with locating accommodation while I was completing research on the campus during Summer 2007. - Jerid Francom for setting up my questionnaires, and the other members of The University of Arizona’s College of Humanities (COH) laboratories for providing an on campus space to work and graciously providing technological support. - the English Department at The University of Arizona for offering various scholarships and informal subsidies for completing graduate studies. - the faculty in Rhetoric, Composition, and the Teaching of English (RCTE) for their encouragement and collaborative approach to writing and learning. - Alison Miller, the RCTE program administrator, for her terrific support. - my stellar dissertation committee members whom I cannot thank enough for their encouragement and dedication to reading and offering feedback on my drafts. - mis comadres and others whom I have come to call friends in RCTE for helping me to make the transition to Tucson and survive in a “different” space. - Living Water Ministries for being my spiritual oasis during the sojourn. - my family – biological, foster, in-laws, and church – and friends, outside of Arizona, who provided support in countless ways. - my husband for his unfailing love and encouragement, and for being a witness to the trials and triumphs of the process. May my Forever Friend – my source of inspiration – bless you all! 5 DEDICATION for Mr. King Eric (David) King stalwart of Mona’s writing program champion record keeper who informed but allowed me to interpret and in memory of my mother Violet Isabel Benjamin whose language habits and questionable insistence that I “study” and “speak properly” saved me from linguistic orphanhood. 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES……………………………………………………………………….10 GLOSSARY……………………………………………………………………………..11 ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………...12 INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………….14 My Research and the UWI……………………………………………………………18 Limitations and Delimitations…………………………………………………………23 Significance of the Study……………………………………………………………...29 Synopsis of the Chapters ……………………………………………………………...33 Notes ………………………………………………………………………………….38 I. UNMASKING THE MYTHS ABOUT JAMAICAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ WRITING………………………………………………………………………………..39 The Myth of Transience……………………………………………………………….54 The Rhetoric of Transparent Disciplinarity versus Visible Disciplinary Rhetoric………………………………….…………………………………………….58 Academic Writing as Transparent Recording or Visible Rhetoric…………………60 Academic Writing Instruction as Remediation or Development…………………...67 Academia as Single Discourse Community or Several Competing Discourse Communities………………………………………………………………………..73 Academic Writing Instruction for Disciplinary Excellence or Social Equity ……...74 Caveats………………………………………………………………………………...78 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS – Continued Transculturation: Jamaica’s History, Education System, and Languages…………….84 Notes…………………………………………………………………………………..88 II. DEVELOPING LOCAL LEADERS PRIOR TO INDEPENDENCE, PRE- 1960S…………………………………………………………………………………….89 Birth of a Regional University for Caribbean Writing “Geniuses”…………………...95 Introducing Logic? Or The Beginnings of Writing Instruction at Mona?...................110 Historical Roots of the Discourse of Transparency in Jamaica……………………...116 Jamaica’s Linguistic Context………………………………………………………...133 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………...143 Notes…………………………………………………………………………………146 III. PROFESSIONALIZING THE ASPIRANT MIDDLE CLASS AFTER INDEPENDENCE, 1960S TO MID-1980S…………………………………………....148 Political Independence and the Impulse for Relevance……………………………...151 Ad Hoc Beginnings of “Use of English” ……………………………………………156 Excellence versus Equity: Assumed versus Real Linguistic and Writing Profile of Students……………………………………………………………………...........166 “English”: Survey or Service? Academic Preserve or School Subject?......................176 A Single Discourse Community: Visible Language Equals Remediation…………..185 A Single Discourse Community: Writing Content as Sociolinguistic Content ……..191 8 TABLE OF CONTENTS – Continued A Plural Academy: Collaboration on Problems versus Disciplinary Writing Requirements……………………………………………............................................193 Writing: A Single, Generalizable Skill/ The Myth of Transience…………………...200 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………...211 Note…………………………………………………………………………………..216 IV. NURTURING “LINGUISTIC ORPHANS” IN THE POST-NATIONAL ERA, LATE 1980S TO 2004………………………………………………………………….217 Students’ Real Linguistic and Writing Profiles Acknowledged: Social Equity Considered………………………………………………….......................................221 Oscillating between Egalitarianism and Elitism: Equity or Excellence?.....................229 Institutionalizing Ambiguity: Neither Equity nor Excellence (?)……………………236 Ambiguous “Writing Centre”