| Local Histories: Reading the Archives of Composition Contributor(s): Donahue, Patricia (Editor), Moon, Gretchen Flesher (Editor) |
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ISBN: 0822959542 ISBN-13: 9780822959540 Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press OUR PRICE: $52.25 Product Type: Paperback Published: June 2007 * Not available - Not in print at this time *Annotation: In "Local Histories", the contributors seek to challenge the widely held belief that the origin of American composition as a distinguishable discipline can be traced to a small number of elite colleges such as Harvard, Yale, and Michigan in the mid- to late nineteenth century. Through extensive archival research at liberal arts colleges, normal schools, historically black colleges, and junior colleges, the contributors ascertain that many of these practices were actually in use prior to this time and were not the sole province of elite universities. Though not discounting the elites' influence, the findings conclude that composition developed in many locales concurrently. Individual chapters reflect on student responses to curricula, the influence of particular instructors or pedagogies in the context of compositional history, and the difficulties inherent in archival research. What emerges is an original and significant study of the developmental diversity within the discipline of composition that opens the door to further examination of local histories as guideposts to the origins of composition studies. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Education | Teaching Methods & Materials - Arts & Humanities - Education | History - Language Arts & Disciplines | Writing - General |
| Dewey: 808.042 |
| LCCN: 2007016300 |
| Series: Pittsburgh Series in Composition, Literacy, and Culture (Paperback) |
| Physical Information: 0.68" H x 6.42" W x 9.01" (0.77 lbs) 344 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: In Local Histories, the contributors seek to challenge the widely held belief that the origin of American composition as a distinguishable discipline can be traced to a small number of elite colleges such as Harvard, Yale, and Michigan in the mid- to late nineteenth century. Through extensive archival research at liberal arts colleges, normal schools, historically black colleges, and junior colleges, the contributors ascertain that many of these practices were actually in use prior to this time and were not the sole province of elite universities. Though not discounting the elites' influence, the findings conclude that composition developed in many locales concurrently. Individual chapters reflect on student responses to curricula, the influence of particular instructors or pedagogies in the context of compositional history, and the difficulties inherent in archival research. What emerges is an original and significant study of the developmental diversity within the discipline of composition that opens the door to further examination of local histories as guideposts to the origins of composition studies. |
