About Rhetoric and Composition
Composition
The word composition usually brings to mind images of young college writers, slaving away with pen and paper, and recent research has illuminated the complexities of this image, as well as the differences between these writers and expert writers in different fields. Today our image of writers must include the computer screen, as we struggle to determine the role of the Internet in writing, identify issues of information literacy, and develop effective practices for computer-mediated communication, such as networked collaboration.
Courses in composition within the concentration cover research and scholarship in composition and the teaching of writing, including major theoretical perspectives, current issues and empirical research methods.
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the study of writing or speaking as a means of communication and persuasion. It includes how we use language to tell the truth, as well as to manipulate others. How do politicians get votes? How does the Red Cross get blood donors and Habitat for Humanity get volunteers? How do scientists develop new theories of the universe and philosophers explore the nature of the soul? The field of rhetoric seeks to understand how people influence each other through language and other symbol systems.
Courses in rhetoric explore the history of rhetoric from the ancient Greeks, who first began looking at methods of persuasion within their democratic state, to contemporary theories of feminist rhetoric or visual rhetoric. Rhetorical criticism teaches methods of identifying persuasive strategies at work in advertising, websites, professional jargon, and even public memorials. Other classes explore issues such as how scientists establish their experimental findings in professional journals, and how gender issues arise in medicine and health care.
Professional Organizations
Linked below are some of the many organizations that sponsor and support teaching and scholarship in the multiple areas of rhetoric and composition.
Conference on College Composition and Communication ("the 4Cs"). The major national organization for writing teachers at the college level publishes a quarterly journal, College Composition and Communication, and holds an annual convention. Several of our faculty have published in this journal or served on its editorial board.
Alliance for Computers and Writing. Sponsors the online journal, Kairos, and supports the publication of the journal Computers and Composition.
Rhetoric Society of America. Publishes the Rhetoric Society Quarterly and holds a biennial conference. Carolyn Miller, on our faculty, served for 10 years as an officer of the RSA, including 2 years as President, and now serves as editor of the journal.
American Society for the History of Rhetoric. Sponsors sessions at the annual National Communication Association convention and publishes a proceedings. Website includes links to many useful resources.
Council for Writing Program Administrators. The Council of Writing Program Administrators is a national organization focusing on the successful administration of writing programs of all kinds. It has increasingly involved graduate students, and now has a graduate student SIG and a graduate student listserv. It provides financial assistant to graduate students for conference attendance and other events. It sponsors an annual workshop and conference and publishes the WPA Journal. Chris Anson, on our faculty, is former president of the WPA and served on the Board for several years.
The Modern Language Association and the affiliated Association of Departments of English gather data on degrees granted in English and employment patterns of English graduates; some of this information is online, but most is available only in print newsletters and reports.
Association of Teachers of Technical Writing. Publishes the Technical Communication Quarterly, hosts an extensive website, and sponsors a one-day conference at the 4Cs convention every year. Several of our faculty have published in this journal and served on its editorial board.
International Writing Centers
Association. Fosters the development of writing center
directors, tutors, and staff by sponsoring meetings, publications, and
other professional activities; publishes the Writing Center Journal.
WAC Clearinghouse at Colorado State
CompPile. Major
bibliographic resource in composition and rhetoric.
Other Useful LInks
Library resources in rhetoric and composition. A research guide intended to introduce students in the M.A. program in English to this area within English Studies and to provide access to the major research tools.
2007 Rhetoric Review Survey of Doctoral Programs in Rhetoric and Composition. Data from sixty-seven doctoral programs, covering topics from active faculty members to graduate support. Includes a summary of the data plus details submitted by each program.
