Yesterday I finished Refiguring the Ph.D. in English Studies by Stephen North. It's one volume in the NCTE series "Refiguring English Studies" (several works in this series populate my current "to read" list). An area I need more background and reading in is the history of English studies, hence the North book. North starts his first section by identifying a lack in scholarship and professional literature regarding the history of doctoral studies in English. Form there, he moves on to historicize what he calls the Magisterial Curriculum that appeared to dominate English doctoral programs from their inception through to the middle of the twentieth century: graduate faculty (who played the role of near mythological figures) allowed their students access to them so that those students might replicate the writing, thinking, and professional identity of the graduate faculty. This unstated but common curriculum served as the stage against which the explosion of heterogeneity in doctoral students (in race, gender, socioeconomic status, educational background, nationality) occurred. Such diversity and other changes led to what North characterizes as a "crisis" in English studies. He details the efforts at the Wye and Wayzata conferences to arrive at some coherent vision for English and those pursuing doctoral work in the discipline. Three apparent approaches, according to North, emerge from an examination of the discourse coming out of Wayzata: dissolution, a corporate arrangement, and fusion.
In the section, North and his collaborators study the doctoral program at SUNY Albany as an example of a fusion curriculum. They emphasize the fact that students are provided space and encouraged to write from their own developing professional perspective, which should seek to integrate the approaches and methodologies or literary theory and history, rhetoric and composition, and creative writing. After providing an abbreviated history of the program, the authors move into an analysis of student writing for courses, qualifying exams, and dissertations.
The final section serves as North battle cry for a fusion-based curriculum as the most viable solution to the continued crisis in English studies (loss of tenure-track positions and clout, a flood of folks on the job market, institutional devaluation, etc).
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Reading and Spiritual Life
Well, Ive been spending a great deal of time reading this (using the term loosely to mean the end of my spring semester) summer (not an unexpected activity, I suppose). For pleasure reading Kathleen Norris' The Cloister Walk reawakened in me a reverence for the varieties of spiritual journeys we all walk, the different directions they lead each sojourner. Her writing is also a cogent and gentle reminder to approach sacred texts (The Bible in her and my case) as beautiful, imagistically rich mythopoetic works, a reminder much-needed in this time of right-wing, literalistic orientations to scripture.
Her descriptions of Benedictine monastic life, its communal elements, fascinate me. The way they draw on and encourage individual talents in the service of their life together provides me with a renewed sense of the importance of community in personal and professional life. I've had the benefit of working these last two years in a caring community of English educators, scholars, and students. I look forward to participating in and helping to cultivate such sites wherever I am.
Her descriptions of Benedictine monastic life, its communal elements, fascinate me. The way they draw on and encourage individual talents in the service of their life together provides me with a renewed sense of the importance of community in personal and professional life. I've had the benefit of working these last two years in a caring community of English educators, scholars, and students. I look forward to participating in and helping to cultivate such sites wherever I am.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Why English?
Why did I pursue graduate studies in English? And rhet/comp in particular?
After a painful, but brief stint as a public high school school English teacher--only one semester--I decided to quit. Through Teach for America, my teaching career began at a Title I high school, an institution charged with serving under-prepared with resources inadequate to meet the challenge--not an unfamiliar story. I realized that the job was not sustainable for me. I just simply could not be what the students needed. (Incidentally, neither could two other teachers. I stayed the full fall term. The lady who replaced me was a displaced university professor from New Orleans. She stayed about two months. The woman who replaced her resigned in May.)
Of course, I realize now that, despite the fact that I could have done more for my students, I really had no clue what I was doing. Though I'd taken pedagogy classes on general methods, rudimentary literacy acquisition, classroom management, etc (all as part of an alternative certification program), they were designed for general audiences, not English teachers. Also, while my mentor teacher came to my class a few times and gave useful feedback, the support I received as a first year teacher (and of English in particular) was not great. Excuses, excuses.
Coming out of this situation, what was I to do next? There was one thing I knew I was good at: studying English (even if I couldn't teach it well). In preparation for the end of the semester, on November 1, 2005, I sent an email to Chair of the English Department at the state university I attended as an undergrad. I asked if there was a possibility I could get an assistantship for the Spring if applied for graduate study there. Her reaction was something along the lines of, "Sure!" I was up front with her that I intended only to be there one semester while I finished applications for other grad programs. She had just dealt with the semester from hell--a hurricane shut the city and the university down for about a month and ravaged the building housing the English Dept.--and she was retiring as Chair in December.
So, I applied for grad school and was awarded an assistantship, which involved teaching basic writing. Given the flexibility afforded me as a graduate students not available to me as a k-12 teacher, I took it upon myself to read as much and talk to as many people about teaching composition as I could. The "practicum" I took in my first semester of grad school was not the best new teacher preparation I could imagine. (and the person who taught would probably admit that, too. He was transitioning into a new administrative position and I was the only new TA in the spring semester. Our practicum, which met 3 times, just was not a high priority. And understandably so.)
The self-education I undertook revealed to me the exciting world of rhet/comp. The MA programs I applied to for fall 2006 entry all had faculty or programmatic interests in rhet/comp. So, there's a winding, incomplete response to the question posed at the beginning. In brief, I undertook graduate study in English because of my initial difficulties as a classroom teacher. (As result of those studies and the training they provided me, I would contend that I have improved significantly as a teacher.)
After a painful, but brief stint as a public high school school English teacher--only one semester--I decided to quit. Through Teach for America, my teaching career began at a Title I high school, an institution charged with serving under-prepared with resources inadequate to meet the challenge--not an unfamiliar story. I realized that the job was not sustainable for me. I just simply could not be what the students needed. (Incidentally, neither could two other teachers. I stayed the full fall term. The lady who replaced me was a displaced university professor from New Orleans. She stayed about two months. The woman who replaced her resigned in May.)
Of course, I realize now that, despite the fact that I could have done more for my students, I really had no clue what I was doing. Though I'd taken pedagogy classes on general methods, rudimentary literacy acquisition, classroom management, etc (all as part of an alternative certification program), they were designed for general audiences, not English teachers. Also, while my mentor teacher came to my class a few times and gave useful feedback, the support I received as a first year teacher (and of English in particular) was not great. Excuses, excuses.
Coming out of this situation, what was I to do next? There was one thing I knew I was good at: studying English (even if I couldn't teach it well). In preparation for the end of the semester, on November 1, 2005, I sent an email to Chair of the English Department at the state university I attended as an undergrad. I asked if there was a possibility I could get an assistantship for the Spring if applied for graduate study there. Her reaction was something along the lines of, "Sure!" I was up front with her that I intended only to be there one semester while I finished applications for other grad programs. She had just dealt with the semester from hell--a hurricane shut the city and the university down for about a month and ravaged the building housing the English Dept.--and she was retiring as Chair in December.
So, I applied for grad school and was awarded an assistantship, which involved teaching basic writing. Given the flexibility afforded me as a graduate students not available to me as a k-12 teacher, I took it upon myself to read as much and talk to as many people about teaching composition as I could. The "practicum" I took in my first semester of grad school was not the best new teacher preparation I could imagine. (and the person who taught would probably admit that, too. He was transitioning into a new administrative position and I was the only new TA in the spring semester. Our practicum, which met 3 times, just was not a high priority. And understandably so.)
The self-education I undertook revealed to me the exciting world of rhet/comp. The MA programs I applied to for fall 2006 entry all had faculty or programmatic interests in rhet/comp. So, there's a winding, incomplete response to the question posed at the beginning. In brief, I undertook graduate study in English because of my initial difficulties as a classroom teacher. (As result of those studies and the training they provided me, I would contend that I have improved significantly as a teacher.)
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Blogging Crisis and PhD News
OK, as a teacher I know everything I do in class should be related to the larger purpose of achieving course objectives. That way class time is driven, activities are connected, and our interaction are never of a floundering nature.
Blogging, at least for me, at this particular moment, is less purposeful. Why do I keep this space? what purpose will it serve? Especially when I do not post here often? Oh well. Things to think about.
On different note, I was accepted into Syrcause University's PhD in Composition and Cultural Rhetoric! They also offered me an assistantship. I will start there in the fall
Blogging, at least for me, at this particular moment, is less purposeful. Why do I keep this space? what purpose will it serve? Especially when I do not post here often? Oh well. Things to think about.
On different note, I was accepted into Syrcause University's PhD in Composition and Cultural Rhetoric! They also offered me an assistantship. I will start there in the fall
Monday, April 28, 2008
Memes are beautiful things
I've wanted to post, but I haven't known how to begin after my last one. Here's a way I don't really have to start from scratch: a meme! Taken from I Have Spoken.
Five things in each of the following categories:
10 years ago, I was:
1. 12
2. Recently moved into the house my mother still calls home.
3. Best friends with John.
4. In 7th grade
5. A voracious reader of British mystery.
Today’s to do list:
1. Basically proctor my students as they do an in-class writing project.
2. Call Pat.
3. Grade above in-class writing.
4. Go to Starbucks
5. Do freewriting
Snacks I enjoy:
1. Chocolate chip mint ice cream
2. Cheese-Its
3. BBQ potato chips
4. Cereal
5. Bread
If I was a billionaire, I would:
1. Give to the church.
2. Pay off student loans.
3. Pay off my mother's house note.
4. Pay for the rest of my schooling.
5. Give to organizations that were in line with my values.
My bad habits:
1. I can be unkind on occasion
2. Procrastination
3. I don't speak my mind as often as I should
4. Messiness
5. I lose things
Pet peeves:
1. Dishonesty
2. Disloyalty
3. Deliberate cruelty
4. Thoughtlessness
5. Abandoning obligations
Places I’ve lived: (all in Texas)
1. Colorado City
2. Llano
3. Houston
4. Beaumont
5. Denton
Jobs I’ve had:
1. High school English teacher
2. Developmental writing teacher
3. Writing tutor
4. First-year writing teacher
5. Community college adjunct
Five things in each of the following categories:
10 years ago, I was:
1. 12
2. Recently moved into the house my mother still calls home.
3. Best friends with John.
4. In 7th grade
5. A voracious reader of British mystery.
Today’s to do list:
1. Basically proctor my students as they do an in-class writing project.
2. Call Pat.
3. Grade above in-class writing.
4. Go to Starbucks
5. Do freewriting
Snacks I enjoy:
1. Chocolate chip mint ice cream
2. Cheese-Its
3. BBQ potato chips
4. Cereal
5. Bread
If I was a billionaire, I would:
1. Give to the church.
2. Pay off student loans.
3. Pay off my mother's house note.
4. Pay for the rest of my schooling.
5. Give to organizations that were in line with my values.
My bad habits:
1. I can be unkind on occasion
2. Procrastination
3. I don't speak my mind as often as I should
4. Messiness
5. I lose things
Pet peeves:
1. Dishonesty
2. Disloyalty
3. Deliberate cruelty
4. Thoughtlessness
5. Abandoning obligations
Places I’ve lived: (all in Texas)
1. Colorado City
2. Llano
3. Houston
4. Beaumont
5. Denton
Jobs I’ve had:
1. High school English teacher
2. Developmental writing teacher
3. Writing tutor
4. First-year writing teacher
5. Community college adjunct
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Daddy
Today, I flew from Dallas to Midland and back again. Today, friends and family gathered in Colorado City, Texas to scatter my father's ashes. My father died on Nov. 10. He hated funerals so much, so my mother decided against having one.
Instead we took him back to the earth of birth, the earth he and his father farmed and worked for so long, often yielding so little return. There is a plot of the family farm, 99 acres of dry land used for cotton farming, that he kept after his father passed away. Called the Rock Pile, the name comes from the 20-yard long pile of rocks, stacked about 2 & 1/2 feet high. That formation came from years of plowing the field for cotton planting and removing rocks that were turned up. A by-product of preparing the land now becomes...What? A memorial? Of lives' work (my father and his father's)? The futility and frustration of the traditional farmer's work?
My uncle, half-brother, and I were the first to scatter parts of the ashes, and then others were invited to do so. My mother was the last. She also left an old cap and an empty beer can. My father never went anywhere without a cap, and as an alcoholic, he struggled with liquor all his life. But he died sober, having gotten out of detox not a week before succumbing to a massive stroke.
I miss him.
Instead we took him back to the earth of birth, the earth he and his father farmed and worked for so long, often yielding so little return. There is a plot of the family farm, 99 acres of dry land used for cotton farming, that he kept after his father passed away. Called the Rock Pile, the name comes from the 20-yard long pile of rocks, stacked about 2 & 1/2 feet high. That formation came from years of plowing the field for cotton planting and removing rocks that were turned up. A by-product of preparing the land now becomes...What? A memorial? Of lives' work (my father and his father's)? The futility and frustration of the traditional farmer's work?
My uncle, half-brother, and I were the first to scatter parts of the ashes, and then others were invited to do so. My mother was the last. She also left an old cap and an empty beer can. My father never went anywhere without a cap, and as an alcoholic, he struggled with liquor all his life. But he died sober, having gotten out of detox not a week before succumbing to a massive stroke.
I miss him.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
MLA: Part 1
Alas...Another long stretch of no blogs.
I recently returned from my first MLA. Given that I was not presenting and that I am not on the job market, I had a really enjoyable time. I went primarily because I'm in the process of applying to Ph.D. programs. My hope was that I would meet faculty and grad students in some of the programs I'm interested in. I was, more or less, successful in this endeavor with two programs: Penn State and Ohio State.
The cash bar session for Penn State allowed me to meet a couple of faculty members as well as four graduate students. They were able to sing the praises of their departments and to tell me, specifically about opportunities for teaching. Unfortunately, no Rhet/Comp people were there. But, the Lit grad students had nothing but good things to say about the Rhet/Comp folks. One was especially jealous of their phenomenal job placement rate.
Just before leaving to go to Chicago, I finished my Ohio State application. A few weeks prior to the MLA, I sent an email to Valerie Lee, English Dept. Chair at OSU asking if we could meet to discuss the program. She kindly agreed, and we had lunch on Saturday, Dec. 29. Dr. Lee has an incredible academic record that I am only a little familiar with. We talked for about 50 minutes. She invited me to meet two of her OSU rhet/comp colleagues who were with her, one of whom I had specifically mentioned as someone I was interested in working with if accepted. So, I briefly (for about 9 minutes) got to visit with Beverly Moss and Kay Halasek.
On the whole, a successful project.
I recently returned from my first MLA. Given that I was not presenting and that I am not on the job market, I had a really enjoyable time. I went primarily because I'm in the process of applying to Ph.D. programs. My hope was that I would meet faculty and grad students in some of the programs I'm interested in. I was, more or less, successful in this endeavor with two programs: Penn State and Ohio State.
The cash bar session for Penn State allowed me to meet a couple of faculty members as well as four graduate students. They were able to sing the praises of their departments and to tell me, specifically about opportunities for teaching. Unfortunately, no Rhet/Comp people were there. But, the Lit grad students had nothing but good things to say about the Rhet/Comp folks. One was especially jealous of their phenomenal job placement rate.
Just before leaving to go to Chicago, I finished my Ohio State application. A few weeks prior to the MLA, I sent an email to Valerie Lee, English Dept. Chair at OSU asking if we could meet to discuss the program. She kindly agreed, and we had lunch on Saturday, Dec. 29. Dr. Lee has an incredible academic record that I am only a little familiar with. We talked for about 50 minutes. She invited me to meet two of her OSU rhet/comp colleagues who were with her, one of whom I had specifically mentioned as someone I was interested in working with if accepted. So, I briefly (for about 9 minutes) got to visit with Beverly Moss and Kay Halasek.
On the whole, a successful project.
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