CCR 611: Composition Histories, Theories, Networks

Spring 2016, Mondays 5:15-8:05 p.m., HBC 020

Patrick W. Berry, pwberry@syr.edu, office: HBC 235 | office phone: 315-443-1912

office hours: Fridays, 1:00-3:00 p.m. and by appointment
http://patrickberry.com/ccr611spring16

Course Overview
What is composition studies? How have our understandings of its boundaries and possibilities
changed over time? In this course, well consider the development of composition studies as a
network of connections by concentrating on pivotal historical, theoretical, and pedagogical
developments, including issues of gender, race, and class; the invention of first-year composition;
the teaching of basic writing; the process movement; critical pedagogy; and the emergence (and
recognition) of multimodal and digital literacies. Well pay close attention to disciplinary narratives
and how they have shaped and challenged our understanding of the work we do as researchers and
teachers across and beyond the university.
Requirements
Write papers in response to readings (approximately 600-900 words). Post your response to Blackboard
before class. Also, bring print or electronic copies of readings to each class.
Attend public talks of the Compositional Strategies in Networked Times Colloquium and Workshop Series and
consider attending the workshops (schedule permitting).
Clay Spinuzzi
Public Talk: February 10, 2:15 p.m.-3:45 p.m., Killian Room, Hall of Languages 500
Workshop: February 11, 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m., Tolley 304
Jentery Sayers
Public Talk: March 3, 2:15 p.m.-3:45 p.m., Killian Room, Hall of Languages 500
Workshop: March 4, 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m., Tolley 304
Elizabeth Wardle
Public Talk: March 24, 2 p.m.-3:20 p.m., Killian Room, Hall of Languages 500
Conversation: March 25, 9:30 a.m.-11 p.m., HBC 239
Lead discussion on assigned readings for one class. During your presentation, you will introduce one
supplemental article-length reading to the class. You and I will meet once before you lead the
discussion.

 Give a mid-semester presentation (12 minutes) at Writing Program symposium on composition

histories and theories, broadly conceived. The symposium will take place during class time on
Monday, March 21.
Complete a writing project (approximately 15 to 20 pages or the digital equivalent). Details will be
forthcoming.
Course Texts
Course readings are available on Blackboard.

Grades, Participation, and Attendance

Active participation is expected. To benefit from the course, you must attend class. Given that
we meet only once a week, I expect to see you every Monday. Please email or call me with any
questions. Your grade will be based on an overall assessment of your work. If you miss more
than two classes, your grade will be reduced by one letter grade. If you miss more than three
classes, you run the risk of failing the course.
Special Needs and Situations
If you believe that you need accommodations for a disability, please contact the Office of
Disability Services (ODS), http://disabilityservices.syr.edu, located in Room 309 of 804
University Avenue, or call (315) 443-4498 for an appointment to discuss your needs and the
process for requesting accommodations. ODS is responsible for coordinating disability-related
accommodations and will issue students with documented disabilities Accommodation
Authorization Letters as appropriate. Since accommodations may require early planning and
generally are not provided retroactively, please contact ODS as soon as possible.
Syracuse University and I are committed to your success and to supporting Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This means that in general no individual who is otherwise qualified
shall be excluded from participation in, be denied benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination
under any program or activity solely by reason of having a disability.
Academic Integrity
The Syracuse University Academic Integrity Policy holds students accountable for the integrity
of the work they submit. Students should be familiar with the policy and know that it is their
responsibility to learn about instructor and general academic expectations with regard to proper
citation of sources in written work. The policy also governs the integrity of work submitted in
exams and assignments as well as the veracity of signatures on attendance sheets and other
verifications of participation in class activities. Serious sanctions can result from academic
dishonesty of any sort. For more information and the complete policy, see the Academic
Integrity Policy at http://academicintegrity.syr.edu/.
Religious Observance
SUs religious observances policy, found at

http://supolicies.syr.edu/emp_ben/religious_observance.htm, recognizes the diversity of

faiths represented among the campus community and protects the rights of students, faculty,
and staff to observe religious holy days according to their tradition. Under the policy, students
are provided an opportunity to make up any examination, study, or work requirements that
may be missed due to a religious observance provided they notify their instructors before the
end of the second week of classes. For fall and spring semesters, an online notification process
is available through MySlice/Student Services/Enrollment/My Religious Observances from
the first day of class until the end of the second week of class.
Course Schedule
1.

Introductions (January 25)

Review course requirements; participate in writing activity; sign up to lead discussion; and
discuss the articles below:
Merrill Sheils. Why Johnny Cant Write. Newsweek 92 (8 Dec. 1975): 58-65
Why Johnny Cant Write. YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykOtgK2sKy0
Robert Connors. Composition History and Disciplinarity. History, Reflection, and
Narrative: The Professionalization of Composition, 1963-1983. Ed. Mary Rosner, Beth
Boehm, and Debra Journet. Stamford: Ablex, 1999. 3-21.

2.

Composition Since 1966 and Dartmouth Revisited (February 1)

Joseph Harris. Selection from A Teaching Subject: Composition Since 1966. Logan: Utah State
University Press, 2012. xv-94.
Joseph Harris. Updating Dartmouth. The Power of Writing: Dartmouth 66 in the Twenty-First
Century. Ed. Christiane Donahue and Kelly Blewett. Hanover, NH: Dartmouth College P,
2015. ix-xix.
Discussion Leader: Ezekiel

Assignment due: Open response to the reading

3.

Writing in the Academic Disciplines, Methods, and the New Workplace (February 8)
David R. Russell. Selections from Writing in the Academic Disciplines: A Curricular History.
Second Edition. Southern Illinois UP, 2002.
Clay Spinuzzi. Symmetry as a Methodological Move. Thinking with Bruno Latour in Rhetoric
and Composition. Ed. Paul Lynch and Nathaniel Rivers. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP,
2015. 23-39.

Clay Spinuzzi. Selection from All Edge: Inside the New Workplace Networks. Chicago: U of
Chicago P, 2015.
Discussion Leader: Jordan

Assignment due: Open response to the reading

4.

James Berlin and Composition History (February 15)

James A. Berlin. Selection from Rhetoric and Reality: Writing Instruction in American Colleges,
1900-1985. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 1987
David Gold, Catherine L. Hobbs, and James A. Berlin. Writing Instruction in School and
College English: The Twentieth Century and the New Millennium. A Short History of
Writing Instruction. Ed. James J. Murphy. 232-72
Discussion Leader: Vincent

Assignment due: Open response to the readings

5.

Composition, Historiography, and Syracuse (February 22)

David Gold. Selection from Rhetoric at the Margins: Revising the History of Writing Instruction in
American Colleges, 1873-1947. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 2008.
Steven Mailloux. Rhetoric Returns to Syracuse: The Reception of Curricula Reform.
Reception Histories: Rhetoric, Pragmatism, and American Cultural Politics. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1998.
151-81.
Discussion Leader: Vani

Assignment due: Open response to the readings; share one-page proposal (300-words)
for symposium presentation
6.

Creative Translations and Prototyping the Past (March 2Meet in 304 Tolley)
Jason Palmeri. Creative Translations: Reimagining the Process Movement (1971-84).
Remixing Composition: A History of Multimodal Writing Pedagogy. Carbondale: Southern
Illinois UP, 2012. 23-50.
Jentery Sayers. Prototyping the Past. Visible Language 49.3. Critical Making: Design and the
Digital Humanities (2015): 157-77.
Jentery Sayers. Tinker-Centric Pedagogy in Literature and Language

Classrooms. Collaborative Approaches to the Digital in English Studies. Ed. Laura McGrath.
Logan, UT: Computers and Composition Digital P/Utah State UP, 2011. Computers and
Composition Digital Press. Web http://ccdigitalpress.org/cad/Ch10_Sayers.pdf
Discussion Leader: Jason

Assignment due: Open response to the readings

7.

Revising the First-Year Requirement (March 7)

Sharon Crowley. Selection from Composition in the University: Historical and Polemical Essays.
Pittsburgh: U of Pittsburgh P, 1998.
Michael Harker. Selection from The Lure of Literacy: A Critical Reception of the Compulsory
Composition Debate. New York: State University of New York, 2015.
Discussion Leader: Amy

Assignment due: Open response to the readings

Spring Break (March 13-20)
8.

Situating Composition: Rethinking Process and Postprocess (March 21)

Lisa Ede. Selection from Situating Composition: Composition Studies and the Politics of Location.
Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 2004.
Jody Shipka. Selection from Toward a Composition Made Whole. Pittsburgh: U of Pittsburgh P,
2011.
Discussion Leader: Brett

Assignment due: Open response to the readings; submit draft of your presentation.
9.

Symposium (March 28)

10.

Basic Writers, Shaughnessy, and Inventing the University (April 4)

Mina P. Shaughnessy. Introduction to Errors and Expectations: A Guide for the Teacher of Basic
Writing (1977). The Norton Book of Composition Studies. New York: Norton, 2009. 38796.
Steve Lamos. The Mid-1970s: Literacy Crisis Meets Color Blindness. Race, Racism, and
University Writing Instruction in the Post-Civil Rights Era. Pittsburgh: U of Pittsburgh P, 2011.
56-85.

Min-Zhan Lu. Redefining the Legacy of Mina Shaughnessy: A Critique of the Politics of
Linguistic Innocence. (1991). The Norton Book of Composition Studies. New York: Norton,
2009. 772-82.
Carmen Kynard. The Revolution Will Not Be [Error Analyzed]: The Black Protest
Tradition of Teaching and the Integrationist Moment. Albany: SUNY P, 2013. 149-90.
Discussion Leader: Ivy

Assignment due: open response to readings

11.

Producing Good Citizens and the Promise of Literacy (April 11)

Amy Wan. Selection from Producing Good Citizens. Pittsburgh: U of Pittsburgh P, 2014.
Eileen Lagman. Moving Labor: Transnational Migrant Workers and Affective Literacies
of Care. Literacy in Composition Studies 3.3 (2015): 1-24.
Discussion Leader: Yanira

Assignment due: open response to readings; one-page draft of your final paper proposal
12.

Critical Pedagogy and Students Right to Their Own Language (April 18)
Myles Horton and Paulo Freire. Selection from We Make the Road by Walking: Conversations
on Education and Social Change. Philadelphia: Temple UP, 1990. xv-xxxvii. 97-143.
Carmen Kynard. I Want To Be African. Tracing Black Radical Traditions with Students
Rights to Their Own Language. Albany: SUNY P, 2013. 73-105.
Nancy Buffington, and Clyde Moneyhun. A Conversation with Gerald Graff and Ira Shor.
JAC (1997): 1-21.

Discussion Leader: Caitlin

Assignment due: Open response to readings

13.

Translingualism and Composition (April 25)

Keith Gilyard. The Rhetoric of Translingualism. College English 78.3 (2016): 284-89.
Suresh Canagarajah. Translingual Writing and Teacher Development in Composition.
College English 78.3 (2015): 265-72.

Ellen Cushman. Translingual and Decolonial Approaches to Meaning Making. College

English 78.3 (2015): 234-42.
Discussion Leader: Telsha
14.

Writing Across the Disciplines (May 2)

David R. Russell. Selections from Writing in the Academic Disciplines: A Curricular History.
Second Edition. Southern Illinois UP, 2002.
Discussion Leader: C.C.

Assignment due: Optional drafts due.

15.

(May 9) No class. Final papers due.