Going Public: What Writing Programs Learn from Engagement - Softcover

9780874217698: Going Public: What Writing Programs Learn from Engagement

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0874217695 ISBN 13: 9780874217698

Publisher: Utah State University Press, 2010

An important new resource for WPA preparation courses in rhetoric and composition PhD programs. In Going Public, Rose and Weiser moderate a discussion of the role of the writing program vis-a-vis the engagement movement, the service learning movement, and current interest in public discourse/civic rhetoric among scholars of rhetoric and composition. This is a thoughtful collection on the ways that engagement-focused programs may be changing conceptions of WPA identity.      As institutions begin to include more explicit engagement with citizen and stakeholder communities as an element of their mission, writing program administrators find themselves with an opportunity to articulate the ways in which writing program goals and purposes significantly contribute to achieving these new institutional goals. Writing programs are typically situated at points where students make the transition from community to college (e.g., first-year composition) or from college to community (e.g. professional writing), and are already dedicated to developing literacies that are critically needed in communities.
     In Going Public, Rose and Weiser locate their discussion in the context of three current conversations in higher education: 1) the engagement movement, particularly as this movement serves to address and respond to calls for greater accountability to broader publics; 2) recent interest in public discourse/civic rhetoric among scholars of rhetorical history and contemporary rhetorical theory; 3) the service learning movement in higher education, especially the ways in which college and university writing programs have contributed to this movement.
    While there have been a number of publications describing service-learning and community leadership programs, most of these focus on curricular elements and address administrative issues, if at all, primarily from a curricular perspective. The emphasis of the current book is on the ways that engagement-focused programs change conceptions of WPA identity. Going Public, then, is not only a significant contribution to the scholarly literature, but also supplies an important new resource for WPA preparation courses in rhetoric and composition PhD programs.

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About the Author:

Shirley K Rose is Associate Professor of English at Purdue University, where she has recently completed a term as Director of Composition. Currently, she serves as Assistant Head of the English Department, mentors teaching assistants in the introductory writing program, and teaches graduate courses in writing program administration. She has published essays in College English, College Composition and Communication, WPA: Writing Program Administration, Journal of Teaching Writing, Rhetoric Review, and Journal of Language and Learning Across the Disciplines.

Irwin Weiser is Professor of English at Purdue University, where he directed the developmental writing program and serves as Director of Composition. Weiser teaches introductory writing, a practicum for new composition teachers, graduate courses in composition research, WAC theory and practice, and writing assessment.

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