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6 s C H o l a r ly p o s i t i o n s i n w r i t i n g p r o g r a m a d m i n i s t r at i o n Jeanne Gunner This chapter is a sketch of writing program administration as an intellectual field. The approach I take is grounded in WPA history and theoretical orientations, as well as in the tensions, arguments, and epistemological orientations that give the field its intellectual vitality. Coming out of textual studies and with a materialist orientation, I favor examination not only of major authors and their publications but also of self-defining and revealing, if marginal, professional documents, including editorial policy statements, the ancillary contents of edited collections, and “flash point” texts—those that have created an angry “buzz” or righteous endorsement. Within composition studies, the social nature of language is a given, but I see writing program scholarship as especially social, as active and embodied, and thus this sketch of the field’s internal and external struggles, how they arose, and what turns they have taken in recent years. Rather than a comprehensive review, this is a conceptual framework, one those interested in WPA scholarship may find useful in situating their reading in the field, and one that, hopefully, will encourage an integration of WPA issues with the critical inquiry of composition studies overall. Reviewing the article titles in the field’s specialized journal, WPA: Writing Program Administration, the chapter titles in the edited collections that were the first WPA scholarly books, and now the titles of individual books of WPA scholarship can provide a quick sense of the major concerns of WPA scholarship. Skimming through the bibliographies and works cited lists in all of the above provides a sense of how this body of work connects with composition studies. And picking up a copy of any of the field’s main journals—CCC, say—and searching through for citations of WPA books, chapters, and articles enables one to assess the impact of WPA scholarship on the larger field. If prospective WPAs were actually to 106 ExP LORI N G C OM P OSI T I ON ST U D I ES follow all these steps, they would end up with a fairly strong knowledge not only of what the intellectual issues and controversies are, but perhaps also of what they ought and need to be. That second point—regarding need—will be a particular concern throughout this chapter. Deducing the nature of WPA scholarship from the above exempla, a newcomer to the field would likely end with an impression of the field’s most traditional and conservative parameters. Knowledge of what’s been done is clearly necessary, but because WPA work is still a relatively new enterprise, because it has such an interesting range of ideological views, institutional natures, cultural challenges, and continuing identity conflicts , it is an area that has special need for researchers and theorists who work against the grain as well. This discussion therefore will be doublevoiced : it moves between the historical practices of mainstream scholarship and critical reflection on them. wpa sCH o larsHi p : so m E o ffiC i al dE fi ni t i o ns and t HEir so Ci al Hi sto ry Editorial guidelines, calls for papers, and authorial rationales are useful in helping to define the traditional, in-field sense of what WPA scholarship is. Looking at past and current examples from these genres, we can see a consistent official stance and strong consensus emerge as to what reasonably constitutes scholarly work in the field. Consider the “Author’s Guide” published in each issue of WPA: Writing Program Administration, the journal sponsored by the field’s primary professional organization, the Council of Writing Program Administrators. The editorial policy that in effect both shapes and limits the scholarly field suggests the highlighted topics as the main scholarly interests of WPA work: WPA: Writing Program Administration publishes articles and essays concerning the organization, administration, practices, and aims of college and university writing programs. Possible topics include the education and support of writing teachers; the intellectual and administrative work of WPAs; the situation of writing programs within both academic institutions and broader contexts; the programmatic implications of current theories, technologies, and research; relationships between WPAs and other administrators and between writing and other academic programs; placement; assessment; and the professional status of WPAs. (2008, 5...

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