Distinguishes between different kinds of positivism. Describes three logical positivist doctrines (physicalism, operationalism, and the unity of science) which became interwoven into the behaviorist rhetoric of the 1940s and 1950s. Argues that despite the historical influence of positivist texts, other epistemologies, especially constructivist and…

Notes that, although unillustrated text has changed from a string of unseparated words to the paragraph system, text-image relations present a continuous pattern of different degrees of interpretation and structuring for visual understanding. Suggests that human cognitive needs caused an adaptation in unillustrated text and that text illustrations…

Suggests an approach for expanding and integrating research to produce a history of technical writing. Defines problems that reside in writing such a history, suggests research premises and questions, and then applies these questions to technical writing as it existed in the English Renaissance, 1475-1640. (SR)

Discusses the way in which letters sent to Thomas Edison following the report that he had solved the problem of incandescent lighting reveal the many discursive worlds that Edison's work touched. Claims these letters indicate how a technological accomplishment is also a multiple, complex social, and communicative accomplishment, creating place and…

Much existing historiography is either based too exclusively on the evidence of old textbooks or concerned too narrowly with theory or the epistemological assumptions underlying theory. Those who study the history of composition in this century need both to consult such new sources of information as course materials, student papers, and oral…

Uses evidence of common writings found in the Rosenthal Collection of North Italian Documents at the University of Chicago to determine that the type of hand written script most popular in sixteenth century Verona was not the "cancellaresca" found in most copy books, but rather the italic and mercantilist scripts. (SKC)

Recounts the history of the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) and explores the purpose for CCCC's existence. (RAE)

Discusses Janet Emig's experiences with sexism in academe in the 1950s and 1960s and her composing process theory in the 1960s. Addresses pedagogical implications of her composing theory, cognitive development as a factor in composition pedagogy, and publication of the monograph. Discusses criticism of the monograph, and suggests that it…

Uncovers a thread of scholarship running throughout this century that is concerned with the relationship between time, the teaching of writing, and institutional constraints. Analyzes what it suggests about time and writing, especially the use of impromptu writing for student assessment. Suggests ways to make some allowances for the role of time…

Analyzes the recognition, development, and use of the power of persuasion in American sales letters from 1905-20, as well as two other business-writing traditions that developed during this period: the "you" viewpoint and the "five C's." (KEH)

Promotes the use of oral evidence in composition historiography to guard against overgeneralization and simplistic reduction of composition history to binary oppositions. Defends oral data against positivistic attacks on its reliability as evidence argues for its evidentiary value. (SR)

Explores William Harvey's work, "On the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Animals." Highlights Harvey's fear of publication and his strategies for reducing resistance to his ideas. Underscores his use of circular references, metaphors, and organizational techniques that enhance and demonstrate his underlying thesis. (SG)

Literary societies, while dying or already defunct in Eastern U.S. schools, still played significant roles in 19th-century frontier colleges like Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, and it is the thesis of the paper that a systematic investigation of the document left by these societies, although largely neglected by historians, will have…

Outlines the emergence of the field of composition studies as a scholarly research discipline in the 1970s. Argues that the development of composition studies is part of a broader intellectual history affecting linguistics and literary studies. Describes the common themes shared by these different fields of study. (HB)

Examines technical books for women of the English renaissance as a microcosm for studying connections among the emergence of technical writing as a genre, the rise of literacy, expansion of knowledge and technology, and replacement of orality by textuality as a result of increasing knowledge. (SR)