ERIC ED437670: Persons in Process: Four Stories of Writing and Personal Development in College. Refiguring English Studies Series.

445 Pages·2000·4.1 MB·English

by  ERIC

DOCUMENT RESUME
ED 437 670
CS 216 994
AUTHOR
Herrington, Anne J.; Curtis, Marcia
TITLE
Persons in Process: Four Stories of Writing and Personal
Development in College. Refiguring English Studies Series.
INSTITUTION
National Council of Teachers of English, Urbana, IL.
ISBN-0-8141-3512-9
ISBN
ISSN-1073-9637
ISSN
2000-00-00
PUB DATE
NOTE
444p.
AVAILABLE FROM
National Council of Teachers of English, 1111 W. Kenyon
Road, Urbana, IL 61801-1096 (Stock No. 35129-3050: $28.95
members, $34.95 nonmembers). Tel: [phone] (Toll Free);
Web site: http://www.ncte.org.
PUB TYPE
Reports
Books (010)
Evaluative (142)
MF01/PC18 Plus Postage.
EDRS PRICE
DESCRIPTORS Case Studies; *College Students; Developmental Stages;
Higher Education; Longitudinal Studies; *Writing Attitudes;
*Writing (Composition); Writing Processes; Writing Research
Academic Discourse; Identity (Psychological)
IDENTIFIERS
ABSTRACT
Drawing on psychological, sociolinguistic, and discourse
theories, this book shows how students use writing not only as a vehicle for
participating in the academic world but also as a means of fashioning their
own private and public identities. It presents case studies of four students
during their years at a large, public university. The case Studies are based
on extensive interviews with each student, analyses of their writing for
composition and other courses, classroom observations, and interviews with
their teachers. It provides insight into the ways that students' academic and
personal uses of writing inflect each other, as well as ways that, in
responding to students writing, teachers can help as well as hinder these
interrelated developmental processes. Chapters in the book are:
(1) Shaping
(2) Claiming the Essay for Himself: Nam;
the Study;
(3) Composing a Self He
Can Live With: Lawrence/Steven;
(4) Understanding Personal/Academic
Connections: Rachel;
"A Bilingual and Social Struggle": Francois; and (6)
(5)
Persons in Process and Possibilities for Teaching. Appendixes contain
interviewing descriptions and other details of the study, and syllabi of
basic and college writing courses, 1989-90.
(Contains 97 references.)
(RS)
Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made
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INFORMATION
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d This document has been reproduced as
organization
received from the person or
Anne J. Herrington
originating it.
to
Minor changes have been made
and Marcia Curtis
improve reproduction quality.
in this
Points of view or opinions stated
CID
represent
document do not necessarily
official OERI position or policy.
Refiguring English Studies provides a forum for
Refiguring
scholarship on English Studies as a discipline, a pro-
ENGLISH
fession, and a vocation. To that end, the series pub-
,
lishes historical work that considers the ways in
II
STUDIES
which English Studies has constructed itself and its
objects of study; investigations of the relationships among its con-
stituent parts as conceived in both disciplinary and institutional terms;
and examinations of the role the discipline has played or should
play in the larger society and public policy. In addition, the series
seeks to feature studies that, by their form or focus, challenge our
notions about how the written "work" of English can or should be
done and to feature writings that represent the professional lives of
the discipline's members in both traditional and nontraditional set-
tings. The series also includes scholarship that considers the
discipline's possible futures or that draws upon work in other disci-
plines to shed light on developments in English Studies.
Volumes in the Series
David B. Downing, editor, Changing Classroom Practices: Resources
for Literary and Cultural Studies (1994)
Jed Rasula, The American Poetry Wax Museum: Reality Effects,
1940-1990 (1995)
James A. Berlin, Rhetorics, Poetics, and Cultures: Refiguring Col-
lege English Studies (1996)
Robin Varnum, Fencing with Words: A History of Writing Instruc-
tion at Amherst College during the Era of Theodore Baird, 1938-
1966 (1996)
Jane Maher, Mina P. Shaughnessy: Her Life and Work (1997)
Michael Blitz and C. Mark Hurlbert, Letters for the Living: Teach-
ing Writing in a Violent Age (1998)
Bruce Horner and Min-Zhan Lu, Representing the "Other": Basic
Writers and the Teaching of Basic Writing (1999)
Stephen M. North, with Barbara A. Chepaitis, David Coogan, Lale
Davidson, Ron MacLean, Cindy L. Parrish, Jonathan Post, and Beth
Weatherby, Refiguring the Ph.D. in English Studies: Writing, Doc-
toral Education, and the Fusion-Based Curriculum (2000)
Stephen Parks, Class Politics: The Movement for the Students' Right
to Their Own Language (2000)
Charles M. Anderson and Marian M. MacCurdy, Writing and Heal-
ing: Toward an Informed Practice (2000)
Jacqueline Bryant; Kermit Campbell;
NCTE EDITORIAL BOARD:
Bobbi Fisher; Xin Liu Gale; Sarah Hudelson; Bill McBride;
Gerald R. Oglan; Helen Poole; Karen Smith, Chair, ex officio;
Michael Greer, ex officio
Persons in Process
Four Stories of Writing and Personal
Development in College
"NO
ANNE J. HERRINGTON
University of Massachusetts Amherst
MARCIA CURTIS
University of Massachusetts Amherst
National Council of Teachers of English
1111 W. Kenyon Road, Urbana, Illinois 61801-1096
5
Manuscript and Production Editor: Thomas C. Tiller
Interior Design: Jenny Jensen Greenleaf
Cover Design: Evelyn C. Shapiro
NCTE Stock Number: 35129-3050
©2000 by the National Council of Teachers of English.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or trans-
mitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopy, or any information storage and retrieval system, without per-
mission from the copyright holder. Printed in the United States of America.
It is the policy of NCTE in its journals and other publications to provide a
forum for the open discussion of ideas concerning the content and the teach-
ing of English and the language arts. Publicity accorded to any particular
point of view does not imply endorsement by the Executive Committee, the
Board of Directors, or the membership at large, except in announcements
of policy, where such endorsement is clearly specified.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Herrington, Anne, 1948
Persons in process: four stories of writing and personal development
in college / Anne J. Herrington, Marcia Curtis.
p. cm.(Refiguring English studies)
"NCTE stock number: 35129"T.p. verso.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8141-3512-9
1. English languageRhetoricStudy and teachingPsychological
aspects. 2. Report writingStudy and teaching (Higher)Psychological
aspects. 3. College studentsPsychology. 4. Maturation (Psychology) I.
Curtis, Marcia Smith. II. Title. III. Series.
PE1404.H45 2000
808'.042'07dc21
99-056816
To Nam, Steven, Rachel, and Francois, with thanks
7
CONTENTS
ix
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Shaping the Study
1
1
54
Claiming the Essay for Himself: Nam
2
Composing a Self He Can Live With:
3
134
Lawrence/Steven
Understanding Personal /Academic Connections:
4
216
Rachel
"A BILINGUAL AND SOCIAL STRUGGLE":
5
273
Francois
354
Persons in Process and Possibilities for Teaching
6
391
WORKS CITED
APPENDIX A: INTERVIEWING AND OTHER DETAILS OF THE
399
STUDY
APPENDIX B: SYLLABI FOR BASIC AND COLLEGE WRITING,
408
1989-90
423
INDEX
433
AUTHORS
- vii -
8
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We are tempted to say that, for a project that has extended
over nine years, those we should acknowledge are too
numerous to mention, and be done with it. While that is true, it
is also too glib. So, knowing that we will inevitably neglect to
name some whose contributions we would wish to name, we will
attempt to put into words our thanks to many who supported
us, put up with us, and contributed in very real ways to the sub-
stance of our study:
The National Council of Teachers of English Research Foun-
dation, for a grant-in-aid that helped us launch this project in
1989.
Elizabeth Bachrach Tan, our graduate research assistant dur-
ing the first year of the study, for her professionalism, levelhead-
edness, and patience with us as we scrambled to follow eighteen
students scattered across nearly ten classes and then began trying
to refocus our study.
The teachers and students who allowed us into their class-
rooms, participated in interviews, and shared their writing with
us, for their generosity and good spirits.
The University of Massachusetts Writing Program for the
lively and supportive environment created for teaching, experi-
mentation, and the study of teaching.
The teachers and staff in the Writing Program who create
that extraordinary environment and enable the teaching enter-
prise to move forward, and, who, for us, acted as if our study
really matteredreading and offering feedback on drafts, help-
ing to duplicate and collect research materials, and encouraging
us to keep on with the study. Those people include Christine
Hoekstra, Emily Isaacs, Wendy Matys, Charles Moran, Irene
Price, Sara Stelzner, and Heidi Terault. And, they include many
- ix
Acknowledgments
graduate students with whom we have taught, shared ideas, and
discussed problems of teaching.
In addition to these collective acknowledgments, Anne wishes
to acknowledge her loving partner and toughest and best reader,
Tina Plette. Marcia wishes to acknowledge Asheley Griffith for
always knowing when to praise and how to critique.
10
x