4.0943 Conference Announcement (1/193)
Elaine Brennan & Allen Renear (EDITORS@BROWNVM.BITNET)
Fri, 25 Jan 91 00:17:21 EST
Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 4, No. 0943. Friday, 25 Jan 1991.
Date: Thu, 24 Jan 91 21:01 EST
From: "John T. Harwood 814-865-4764" <JTH@PSUVM>
Subject: Penn State Conference on Rhetoric and Composition
The Penn State Conference on Rhetoric and Composition
July 10-13, 1991
The Penn State Conference on Rhetoric and Composition, now in its tenth
year, is a four-day gathering of teachers and scholars. It offers a
generous mixture of plenary and special-interest sessions in a relaxed
atmosphere; a chance for learning, leisure, and reflection on
composition and rhetoric; and an extended opportunity to discuss
professional concerns with nationally known speakers and interested
colleagues.
The conference features plenary sessions, concurrent sessions, and
roundtable discussions on topics of current interest. In addition, two
special sessions led by our featured speakers will be presented on
Saturday morning:
(a) New Ideas for the Writing Classroom
(b) Symposium on the History and Theory of Rhetoric.
Call for Papers
The program committee invites one-page proposals for papers, workshops,
and roundtables. Multiple submissions are encouraged. Please identify
each proposal as a:
paper
whole session
workshop
roundtable
On each proposal, please include:
the title
your name
your professional affiliation
your home address
your home phone number
If you are willing to chair a session, please let us know, too. If
necessary, include an alternate home address and phone number for
correspondence after June 1.
Send your proposals by April 2 to John T. Harwood, The Pennsylvania
State University, 117 Burrowes Building, University Park, PA 16802;
phone (814) 865-4764 or BITNET to JTH at PSUVM.
Although we receive approximately four hundred proposals, we can accept
only about one hundred papers. We will announce this year's program in
early May.
Call for Papers
You may propose a single 20-minute paper or an entire session (typically
consisting of three related papers) on subjects involving rhetoric and
composition. Especially welcome are extensions, applications, and
critiques of the work of our featured speakers. Other possible topics
include: rhetorical theory; research in composition; the composing
process; evaluation; technical or business writing; advanced
composition; ESL; writing across the curriculum; the history of
rhetoric; teaching methods; collaborative learning; tutoring and writing
labs; connections among reading, writing, and speaking; computers and
writing; literacy; style and stylistics; basic writing; social
implications of writing; testing and assessment; and the administration
of writing programs.
Workshops
Several 60- or 90-minute workshops on the topics listed above will be
scheduled. We strongly prefer proposals that clearly include hands-on,
interactive involvement, and we will try to accommodate proposals that
involve innovative applications of technology.
Roundtables
In each roundtable session, speakers representing a wide spectrum of
opinions on a controversial question will briefly present their
positions, after which the chair will moderate the discussion among the
panelists and the audience. To submit a position paper, follow the
guidelines given under Call for Papers. Be sure to give your proposal a
title and indicate which question it addresses.
(a) How interdisciplinary can or should rhetoric and composition be?
What problems has interdisciplinary research created? What problems has
it solved?
(b) What should be the connections between "diversity" and freshman
composition?
Saturday Morning Sessions
To propose short presentations for these sessions, follow the guidelines
given under Call for Papers. Be sure to give your proposal a title.
New Ideas for the Writing Classroom
Though much of our conference focuses on writing pedagogy, participants
will have a special opportunity to concentrate on classroom tactics for
three hours on Saturday. First, sessions will be built around the
discussion of confereesU specific classroom activities: exercises,
assignments, methods, and so forth. Then, responses to and discussions
of those classroom practices will be directed by Linda Brodkey, Jim
Corder, Peter Elbow, Anne Herrington, Debra Journet, and Richard Larson.
Finally, the participants, presenters, and our panel of experts will
discuss pedagogical issues in writing that have emerged from both this
workshop and the entire conference.
Symposium on the History and Theory of Rhetoric
The first part of this three-hour Saturday session will address two
central questions implicit throughout the conference: what are the
pressing questions that need to be addressed by those who study rhetoric
and the teaching of writing, and how might answers to those questions be
pursued? Marilyn Cooper, Jeanne Fahnestock, Michael Halloran, Carolyn
Miller, Susan Jarratt, James J. Murphy, and John Schilb will address
those questions with short position statements, and then participants
will have ample opportunity to respond. In the second half of the
session, the same scholars will lead small-group discussions.
Participants will have an opportunity to share informally their own
research projects and to receive specific advice on them from other
participant s.
Speakers
Our keynote speaker, Peter Elbow, is professor of English at the
University of Massachusetts. Author of numerous essays on writing,
literature, and teaching, he won the Braddock Award in 1985 for "The
Shifting Relationships Between Speech and Writing." Recent publications
include "Portfolios as a Substitute for Proficiency Examinations"
(College Composition and Communication, 1986) and "The Pleasures of
Voice in the Literary Essay: Explorations in the Prose of Gretel
Ehrlich and Richard Selzer," a chapter in Chris Anderson's collection,
Literary Nonfiction: Theory, Criticism, and Pedagogy (1989). He is
author of a number of books, including Embracing Contraries (1986),
Writing with Power (1981), and Writing without Teachers (1973). He is
also the author o f What is English?, a forthcoming volume to be
published by the Modern Language Association.
Linda Brodkey (University of Texas at Austin) has published essays on
adult literacy, composition, and text analysis, including "The Language
in Metaphor" (College English, 1988). In Academic Writing as Social
Practice (1987) she examines writing in the academic community. While
at the University of Pennsylvania, she directed a master's program in
adult literacy and a doctoral program in writing. Her work has appeared
in numerous journals, including College English and Written
Communication.
James J. Murphy (University of California, Davis), a professor in the
Department of Rhetoric and Communication, has published widely on the
history of rhetoric. His books include an edition of Quintilian (1987),
The Debater's Guide (1987), Renaissance Eloquence (1983), A Synoptic
History of Classical Rhetoric (1983), and The Rhetorical Tradition and
Modern Writing (1982). More recently, his review article, "Implications
of the Renaissance of Rhetoric in English Departments" (Quarterly
Journal of Speech, 1989), examines recent trends of rhetoric in English
studies.
John Schilb (University of Maryland) has written on a range of subjects,
including the history of rhetoric, the teaching of noncanonical
literature, the relationship between literary theory and composition
theory, and women's studies. His work includes "Deconstructing Didion:
Poststructuralist Rhetorical Theory in the Composition Class," which
appeared in Chris Anderson's collection, Literary Nonfiction: Theory,
Criticism, Pedagogy (1989), and "Differences, Displacements, and
Disruptions: Toward Revisionary Histories of Rhetoric" (Pre/Text,
1987). His articles "Canonical Theories and Noncanonical Literature:
Steps Toward a Pedagogy" (1986) and "Teaching Noncanonical Literature"
(1986) both appeared in Reader: Essays in Reader-Oriented Theory,
Criticism, and Pedagogy.
Other featured speakers include Marilyn Cooper (Michigan Technological
University), Jim Corder (Texas Christian University), Jeanne Fahnestock
(University of Maryland), Michael Halloran (Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute), Anne Herrington (University of Massachusetts), Susan Jarratt
(Miami University), Debra Journet (University of Louisville), Richard
Larson (Lehman College, CUNY), and Carolyn Miller (North Carolina State
University).
Time and Location
This conference will begin at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, July 10 and will
end at noon on Saturday, July 13. It will be held on Penn State's
University Park Campus in State College, Pennsylvania.
For More Information
About program content, contact John T. Harwood, The Pennsylvania State
University, 117 Burrowes Building, University Park, PA 16802; phone
(814) 865-4764, fax (814) 863-7049
About registration, contact Chuck Herd, The Pennsylvania State
University, 409 Keller Conference Center, University Park, PA 16802;
phone (814) 863-3550, fax (814) 865-3749