The lure of literacy : a critical reception of the compulsory composition debate / Michael Harker.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Harker, Michael, 1976- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

English language--Composition and exercises--Study and teaching.

English language.

English language--Rhetoric--Study and teaching (Higher).

Literacy.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (160 p.)

Place of Publication:

Albany, New York : State University of New York Press, 2015.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

"…readers of LiCS will find a strong argument for how understandings of literacy are fundamental to the work that compositionists do, making this book useful not only to those doing similar work but also to be shared with colleagues who have less familiarity with literacy studies. The Lure of Literacy presents a model of how theories of literacy can be applied to the debates that beset compositionists again and again, offering a way out of their unproductive cycles." — Literacy in CompositionThe Lure of Literacy promises to transcend the stale and unproductive debate on freshman composition that has gripped English studies for more than a century. It is the first book to chart the origin of the discussion from the early twentieth century to the advent of the New Literacy Studies. Michael Harker recontextualizes proposals to abolish compulsory composition and reimagines pedagogical conditions in English studies in order to present a different model for first-year writing. This new model for compulsory composition programs focuses on students' attitudes about composition and interrogates the very idea of literacy itself.

Contents:

""Contents""; ""Acknowledgments""; ""Introduction: A Necessary Beginning""; ""Chapter One: The Lure of Literacy""; ""Literacy Studies and the Abolition Debate""; ""Thomas Lounsbury�“Compulsory Composition in Colleges�""; ""Characteristics and Consequences of Academic Specialization""; ""Pursuing Prestige: Philology and the Rise of the Department of English""; ""Oscar James Campbell�The Failure of Freshman English""; ""Chapter Two: The Sphinx Riddle of Freshman English: Examining Continuities of Literacy in the Great Debate""

""Overlooked Voices and Continuities in the Abolition Debate""""With Curiosity and Compassion�Freshman English Once More""; ""“Freshman English Once More�Concluded�""; ""What Price English? The Costs of Generalizing the Literacy Myth to the University""; ""Chapter Three: Recovering the Reformists: Articulating the Educational Reforms of Compulsory Composition""; ""Remedies for High School and Freshman English�“For the Good of Us All�""; ""For a Livable World Tomorrow""; ""The Failure of High-School Composition: A “Silver Lining in a Very Dark Cloud�""

""Preparation for College English: Continuity, Attainment, and Decency""""Radio, Best Source of News""; ""A Freshman Looks at Conscription""; ""Chapter Four: In This Spirit: The Rhetoric of Referencing a Current and Traditional Complaint""; ""The Particulars of a Powerful Polemic""; ""Crowley and the Rise of New Abolitionism""; ""The Rhetoric of Citations�Explicating Typographical Ends""; ""See the Material Conditions of Composition Instructors""; ""(Re) Situating Sharon Crowley�s Polemic""

""Chapter Five: “What Should Colleges Teach?�: A Proposal for a Compulsory Curriculum in First-Year Literacy Studies""""The Compulsory Course in First-Year Literacy Studies: Lessons, Outcomes, and Questions""; ""Student Lesson I: Literacy is historical, and history teaches us there are many paths to literacy.""; ""Student Lesson II: Literacy is not simple.""; ""Student Lesson III: Literacy is not neutral or invariably good.""; ""Student Lesson IV: The consequences of literacy are curious.""; ""Student Lesson V: The literacy myth does not express a falsehood.""; ""Notes""; ""Works Cited""

""Index""

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781438454962

1438454961