Questions the persistence of the concept of organizing scholarship and instruction along national or chronological lines. Proposes a radically new system by which English studies might be organized. Suggests developing "contact zones" which bring diverse texts into dialog with one another. (HB)

Discusses Flannery O'Conner's notion that "stupidity" is a necessary quality for the writer of fiction to possess. Examines the difference between ignorance and stupidity and vicious and virtuous stupidity. Presents pedagogical implications for the teaching of writing. (NH)

Considers the emergence of English as a separate high school subject beginning late in the 19th century. Describes the influence of the Committee of Ten, whose objective was to assure that students were prepared for college. (HB)

Presents an interview with author Margaret Atwood about teaching writing, her experience of writing, and Canadian literature. (SR)

Reviews basic concepts and history of the educational thought of John Dewey. Argues for the implications for composition studies of three of Dewey's principles. Constructs a Deweyan approach to composition and compares it with that proposed by Peter Elbow. (HB)

Enacts a dialog about the authors' successes and failures as organic intellectuals of the underclass working within a traditional university setting. Emphasizes making the conflicts of class, race, gender, age, ethnicity the center of the writing classroom. (RS)

Offers a feminist perspective on the writing teacher's place in forwarding an emancipatory politics. Argues against a common form of technological determinism--the notion that the ability to read and write by itself inevitably proves beneficial to individuals and to society. Locates a model of literacy in women's studies programs. (RS)

Argues that writing instruction should lead student writers to find their voice in their writing and that this will only happen if they write often for personal purposes and personal expression. (SR)

Relates the experience of the author as a young man struggling to write a chapter of his dissertation called "Why Teach Poetry?". Notes that poet Louis Ginsberg (father of poet Allen Ginsberg) provided him with a two-paragraph answer, as meaningful and pertinent now as it was 50 years ago. (SR)

Describes how a sign-in procedure in Head Start classrooms at the beginning of class can provide a functional use for name writing and give children practice and opportunities to gain confidence in writing. Outlines specific procedures for implementing a sign-in routine and provides examples of the impact of the routine on young children. (KB)

Discusses the somatic mind, a permeable materiality in which mind and body resolve into a single entity which is (re)formed by the constantly shifting boundaries of discursive and corporeal intertextualities. Addresses its importance in composition studies. Critiques the poststructuralist disregard of corporeality. (CR)

Discusses basic strokes, stroke sequence rules, and motor aspects of drawing in writing Chinese characters. Finds mastery of proper stroke sequence is low even for familiar characters. Discusses three main groups of errors children made. Explores educational implications for the teaching of stroke sequences in the teaching of handwriting based on…

Offers excerpts from a lecture given by Robert Pinsky, thirty-ninth United States Poet Laureate. Discusses: his view that poetry, like any other art, should begin with a physical attraction; how this conviction influences his teaching of poetry; and how his perception of poetry and of language has been affected by his work with computers. (SR)

Discusses the New York Institute of Technology's On-line Campus (OLC) program and then examines difficulties that arise in adapting a traditional course syllabus and structure to the "conceptual" classroom of a fully online composition class. Proposes an evolving syllabus as one solution to these difficulties. Discusses issues raised by…

Makes a case for using advertising as the common subject matter in a composition course, and for analyzing advertisements as a means of teaching argumentation. Discusses seeking a social-epistemic curriculum in the heterogeneous writing class. Shows why the close analysis of print advertisements provides an ideal opportunity to discuss questions…