The Lifetime Television Network has established itself within the cable industry as the only network that explicitly gendercasts its programming. Lifetime specifically markets itself as "Television for Women"; however, what that means exactly is not clear. On the one hand, Lifetime does not want to be noted as the "feminist network." Yet, former…

This book discusses the centrality of rhetoric in the academy, asserting the intimate connection between language and knowledge making and stressing the need for a change in the roles of teachers and students in today's classroom. The goal is mutuality, or sharing authority between teachers and students, and allowing everyone an equal voice. For…

This article focuses on the language choices that second language teachers have made in the course of their professional lives as constructed in life stories that they wrote for a national writing contest. The choices include those made by the teachers during their school years, upon entering college, and in the course of their careers. In the…

A study sought to explore and define the nature of gendered religious socialization in a non-denominational Christian school, using the lens of submission theology. Many Christian schools today are less rigid in their rules and doctrines than formerly and are no longer separate from the world. This study was conducted in one such school, where a…

One advantage of writing center tutorial groups over individual tutoring is that in groups students have the opportunity to become readers of others' writing and to provide feedback to their peers. In such groups, it is assumed that the tutor as facilitator serves as an interactional and linguistic model for students. To test this hypothesis, over…

Talk remains by far the most used medium of instruction and classroom action. Classroom talk is typically dominated by triadic dialogue or an I-R-E (Initiate-Response-Evaluation) pattern of talk noted in the literature as consistent across grades and subjects. Studies seem to indicate that teachers utilize traditional forms of talk, even though…

Slightly revised version of a paper presented in December 1970 at the Philipps University, Marburg, West Germany. (WB)

The author compares some systems of the aims of discourse ranging from the Aristotelian and Aquinas schools to the Buhler, Jakobsen, and Kinneavy theories, and pleads for the preservation of the liberal arts tradition with composition as a basic course. (DS)

Compares discourse in several different media and finds that strict sequentiality is not a universal feature of discourse. Concludes that discourse in nonreal time media, such as electronic message systems, has multiple threads. (FL)

Reports on a classroom experiment testing the hypothesis that the distance across which readers must integrate information is a factor in reading comprehension. Concludes that secondary school students found it more difficult to resolve semantic relationships beyond the sentence than those within the sentence. (FL)

Business letter-writers are advised to develop reader empathy and benefit before they ask a favor. The author analyzed two model 16th century letters of request to determine if similar advice was given in the past, and found that the request was subordinate to building a mutually beneficial relationship. (PD)

Examines three basic approaches for teaching argument in a composition class--logical/analytic, content/problem solving, and rhetorical/generative. Discusses the problems of each and defends the rhetorical/generative approach as the one that reaches its goal most directly and most reliably. (HTH)

Investigates the ways in which primary school-aged children engage a teacher's attention through active solicitation. Argues that examining these interactions reveals both what the children do and allows for a redefinition of a conceptualization of "talk engagement." (FL)

Defined competence as effectiveness in dealing with one's environment and assessed (N=27) independently living older adults. Results found higher levels of competence were associated with a more demanding environment, and engaging in more activities. Cognitive test performance was related to both competence and quality of lingiustic tasks. (JAC)