English 506

Rhetoric and Composition:
History, Theory, and Research

Gordon Thomas
Office: 224 Brink Hall
E-Mail: thomas@uidaho.edu
Office Hours: 12:00 to 1:00 pm MWF, 1:30 to 2:30 Tues., and by appt.
Phone: 885-6384 (office)
882-4321 (home)

The course will survey current composition research and theory, explore the history of this relatively new field, and try to determine its current state. Although composition research is often empirical and depends on statistical methods to interpret it findings, I do not expect us to become significantly involved in this sort of research. We will look at selected studies to see what sorts of things this empirical research has learned about writing in the past 20 years. Composition research is also cross-disciplinary and draws on the disciplines of linguistics, cognitive psychology, education, and literary criticism. It contributes to composition theory, which also borrows freely from theories of language in linguistics and other disciplines.

Our purpose in studying composition research and theory is two-fold: to give you a wider background in composition studies so that you are a better informed composition instructor and to contribute to your understanding of language as it applies to writing. Studying composition research and theory will not in itself make you a better composition teacher, but it should help you understand why the things that you do well do help your students' writing and why other things may not be so successful.

Updated: 02/07/2005 10:02 AM