This article points composition scholars toward two bodies of theory that are gaining attention in our discipline, performance studies and multimodal discourse theory. Each raises important questions about the ways we teach writing, the kinds of composition processes we value, and the means by which students construct authority in the university.…

In their recent article, "Materiality and Genre in the Study of Discourse Communities," Devitt, Bawarshi, and Reiff maintain that genre analysis can enable outsiders to a discourse community "to connect what community members know and do with what they say and how they say it--their language practices" (542). Genre analysis,…

Discusses an alternative to the conventional close reading of a literary work in which students take on the role of any member of a film crew (director, screenwriter, filmscorer, etc.) and communicate how the scene would best be transferred to the screen. Notes that the activity cultivates critical analysis and serves as a springboard for personal…

Introduces humanistic ways of bringing students into the world of letter writing. The article deals with correspondence in which students are writing to someone, offers useful techniques for getting students to write to each other in class, and suggests ways of providing students with various kinds of masks from behind which to write. (VWL)

Aiming to bring a new sense of adventure to teaching and learning by focusing on the lives of historical figures, artists, and scientists, this book is a "how-to" for teaching the most important lesson of all: becoming human. Each chapter includes several "Actions" designed to bring the human aspect of various disciplines center stage while…