In this Book
Field Of Dreams
One of the first collections to focus on independent writing programs, A Field of Dreams offers a complex picture of the experience of the stand-alone. Included here are narratives of individual programs from a wide range of institutions, exploring such issues as what institutional issues led to their independence, how independence solved or created administrative problems, how it changed the culture of the writing program and faculty sense of purpose, success, or failure.
Further chapters build larger ideas about the advantages and disadvantages of stand-alone status, covering labor issues, promotion/tenure issues, institutional politics, and others. A retrospective on the famous controversy at Minnesota is included, along with a look at the long-established independent programs at Harvard and Syracuse.
Finally, the book considers disciplinary questions raised by the growth of stand-alone programs. Authors here respond with critique and reflection to ideas raised by other chapters—do current independent models inadvertently diminish the influence of rhetoric and composition scholarship? Do they tend to ignore the outward movement of literacy toward technology? Can they be structured to enhance interdisciplinary or writing-across-the-curriculum efforts? Can independent programs play a more influential role in the university than they do from the English department?
Table of Contents
Cover
Frontmatter
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION: Cautionary Tales about Change
I. Local Scenes: STORIES OF INDEPENDENT WRITING PROGRAMS
1. THE ORIGINS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ACADEMIC, CREATIVE, AND PROFESSIONAL WRITING AT GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY
2. INTERNAL FRICTION IN A NEW INDEPENDENT DEPARTMENT OF WRITING: And What the External Conflict Resolution Consultants Recommended
3. WRITING IDENTITY: The Independent Writing Department as a Disciplinary Center
4. SMALL BUT GOOD: How a Specialized Writing Program Goes It Alone
5. INDEPENDENCE FOSTERING COMMUNITY: The Benefits of an Independent Writing Program at a Small Liberal Arts College
6. NO LONGER DISCOURSE TECHNICIANS: Redefining Place and Purpose in an Independent Canadian Writing Program
II. Beyond the Local: CONNECTIONS AMONG COMMUNITIES
7. LEARNING AS WE G(R)O(W): Strategizing the Lessons of a Fledgling Rhetoric and Writing Studies Department
8. CREATING TWO DEPARTMENTS OF WRITING: One Past and One Future
9. WHO WANTS COMPOSITION?: Reflections on the Rise and Fall of an Independent Program
10. REVISING THE DREAM: Graduate Students, Independent Writing Programs, and the Future of English Studies
11. LOCATING WRITING PROGRAMS IN RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES
12. WAGERING TENURE BY SIGNING ON WITH INDEPENDENT WRITING PROGRAMS
III. The Big Picture: IMPLICATIONS FOR COMPOSITION, ENGLISH STUDIES, AND LITERACY EDUCATION
13. A ROSE BY EVERY OTHER NAME: The Excellent Problem of Independent Writing Programs
14. KEEPING (IN) OUR PLACES, KEEPING OUR TWO FACES
15. MANAGING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
16. STASIS AND CHANGE: The Role of Independent Composition Programs and the Dynamic Nature of Literacy
17. BIGGER THAN A DISCIPLINE?
AFTERWORD: Countering the NaysayersâIndependent Writing Programs as Successful Experiments in American Education
REFERENCES
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
INDEX
| ISBN | 9780874214642 |
|---|---|
| Related ISBN(s) | 9780874214406 |
| MARC Record | Download |
| OCLC | 51952744 |
| Pages | 325 |
| Launched on MUSE | 2012-01-01 |
| Language | English |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Creative Commons | CC-BY |
Copyright
2002
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