Rhetoric and Reality: Writing Instruction in American Colleges, 1900 - 1985 (Studies in Writing and Rhetoric)

Berlin, Professor James A.

ISBN 10: 080931360X / ISBN 13: 9780809313600

Published by Southern Illinois University Press (edition First Edition), 1987

About this Item

It's a preowned item in good condition and includes all the pages. It may have some general signs of wear and tear, such as markings, highlighting, slight damage to the cover, minimal wear to the binding, etc., but they will not affect the overall reading experience.

Seller Inventory # 080931360X-11-1

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Rhetoric and Reality: Writing Instruction in American Colleges, 1900 - 1985 (Studies in Writing and Rhetoric)
• Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press (edition First Edition)
• Publication Date: 1987
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 080931360X
• ISBN 13: 9780809313600
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition: First Edition.
• Condition: Good

About this title

Synopsis

Berlin here continues his unique history of American college com­position begun in his Writing Instruction in Nineteenth-Century Colleges (1984), turning now to the twentieth century.

In discussing the variety of rhetorics that have been used in writ­ing classrooms Berlin introduces a taxonomy made up of three cate­gories: objective rhetorics, subjective rhetorics, and transactional rhetorics, which are distinguished by the epistemology on which each is based. He makes clear that these categories are not tied to a chronology but instead are to be found in the English department in one form or another during each decade of the century.

His historical treatment includes an examination of the formation of the English department, the founding of the NCTE and its role in writing instruction, the training of teachers of writing, the effects of progressive education on writing instruction, the General Education Movement, the appearance of the CCCC, the impact of Sputnik, and today's "literacy crisis."

About the Author

James A. Berlin is Director of Freshman English at the University of Cincinnati.