Teaching Outre Literature Rhetorically in First-Year Composition Item Type text; Electronic Dissertation Authors Hinojosa, Manuel Matthew 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 17:04:34 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/196069 TEACHING OUTRÉ LITERATURE RHETORICALLY IN FIRST-YEAR COMPOSITION by Manuel Matthew Hinojosa _____________________ A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY WITH A MAJOR IN RHETORIC, COMPOSITION, AND THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2 0 0 5 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Dissertation Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by Manuel Matthew Hinojosa entitled Teaching Outré Literature Rhetorically in First-Year Composition and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. _______________________________________________________________________ Date: May 3, 2005 Thomas P. Miller _______________________________________________________________________ Date: May 3, 2005 Theresa Enos _______________________________________________________________________ Date: May 3, 2005 Edward M. White 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: May 3, 2005 Dissertation Director: Thomas P. Miller 3 STATEMENT BY 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: Manuel Matthew Hinojosa 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Acknowledging all of the people in my life who contributed to my thinking about, writing, and defending this dissertation would take more space than I have. Instead, here are but a few people. I thank my parents, Manuel and Shirley Hinojosa, who encouraged my abilities and supported me through twelve years of higher education. I also acknowledge the friends who inspired me to achieve all that I could. In particular, I salute Gryffindors Anna Marie Amezquita and Yasmin Levinson for helping me become the reader, thinker, and writer that I am today. Thank you to the Sunnydale High teachers who motivated me to keep learning: Jane Morel, Barbara Coakley, Arthur DeForest, Tim Myers, and Anne Crane. I thank my proofreader, Michael Dunk, who agreed to take on the tedious task of untangling the grammatical knots that I often create. Any remaining errors are my burden, not his. May the Force always be with you, Master Dunk. Finally, a warm thank you to my committee—Theresa Enos, Ed White, and Tom Miller—who agreed to work with this outré topic. Their comments, questions, patience, and guidance helped me finish this project on time. Thank you all. 5 DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to my ancestors who left Spain and Germany centuries ago for a better life in the new world. When they arrived they farmed land, tamed horses, picked cotton, laid bricks, rolled steel, washed dishes, and kept house. Their hard work and determination made it possible for me to achieve my dream of intellectual pursuit in higher education. 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT.........................................................................................................................9 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................10 Rhetorical Situation of the Dissertation.................................................................11 Overview of the Dissertation .................................................................................19 CHAPTER ONE: MAKING A CASE FOR THE RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF OUTRÉ LITERATURE IN FIRST-YEAR COMPOSITION...........................................27 Critical Reading: Outré Literature as Familiar ......................................................29 Critical Thinking: Rhetoric as a Way of Thinking ................................................37 Critical Writing: Composing in Contact Zones .....................................................45 Critical Literacies: In College and at Home ..........................................................55 Conclusion: What Is at Stake? ...............................................................................59 CHAPTER TWO: TEACHING ADOLESCENT FANTASY LITERATURE RHETORICALLY IN FIRST-YEAR COMPOSITION ...................................................64 Why Teach Adolescent Fantasy Literature in First-Year Composition?...............64 Reading Harry Potter as a Rhetorician: A Case Study ..........................................72 Unit One: Defamiliarization .................................................................................78 Unit Two: Identification ........................................................................................87 Unit Three: Pathetic Rhetoric ..............................................................................104 Unit Four: Synthesizing for a Final Exam ...........................................................109 Conclusion: Beyond Hogwarts............................................................................110 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS — Continued CHAPTER THREE: TEACHING TELEVISUAL LITERATURE RHETORICALLY IN FIRST-YEAR COMPOSITION ................................................................................113 Why Use Television to Teach Reading, Thinking, and Writing?........................115 Reading Buffy the Vampire Slayer as a Rhetorician: A Case Study....................119 Unit One: Reading Televisual Literature.............................................................124 Unit Two: Thinking about Televisual Literature.................................................132 Unit Three: Writing about Televisual Literature .................................................149 Unit Four: Synthesizing for a Final Exam ...........................................................153 Conclusion: Beyond Sunnydale...........................................................................155 CHAPTER FOUR: TEACHING GRAPHIC LITERATURE RHETORICALLY IN FIRST-YEAR COMPOSITION .....................................................................................158 Why Use Graphic Literature in First-Year Composition?...................................160 Reading Star Wars Graphic Literature as a Rhetorician: A Case Study............. 168 Unit One: Generic Rhetoric .................................................................................172 Unit Two: Visual Rhetoric...................................................................................178 Unit Three: Social Rhetoric .................................................................................185 Unit Four: Synthesizing for a Final Exam ...........................................................192 Conclusion: Beyond a Galaxy Far, Far Away .....................................................194 CHAPTER FIVE: BRINGING FIRST-YEAR COMPOSITION, PEDAGOGY, AND TEXTBOOKS INTO RHETORICAL ALIGNMENT .........................................196 Understanding the Rhetorical Dynamics of First-Year Composition .................197 8 TABLE OF CONTENTS — Continued The Need for a Rhetorical Pedagogy...................................................................208 Using Textbooks to Teach Literature Rhetorically..............................................214 Conclusion: What Is at Stake? .............................................................................225 NOTES.............................................................................................................................230 WORKS CITED ..............................................................................................................233 9 ABSTRACT This dissertation argues that using rhetorical approaches to outré literature gleaned from popular culture within the context of first-year composition helps students become critical readers, thinkers, and writers. I suggest that if instructors privilege texts their students are likely to be familiar with in English 101, then they can more readily introduce unfamiliar concepts like rhetorical analysis; by the time students arrive in English 102, they can apply the now familiar concept of rhetorical analysis to new texts such as