Adventures in MFA Land

Neo-Platonist/Expressionist In this model, which has its roots in Plato and arose as a reaction to the positivist/current traditionalist model, truth is always in flux. Truth arises from the individual's interaction with the world. The writers task is personal; the writer uses language to convey their own individual truth. Because this model views writing as a personal expression, pedagogical approaches place emphasize critical thinking to generate exploration and discovery. New Rhetoric In this model, also referred to as Epistemic Rhetoric, truth is ever-changing. Truth evolves from the interaction of opposing elements. The writer's task is to use language, necessary for the expression of truth, to create truth. Pedagogical approaches emphasize the interaction of the writer, language, reality, and the audience. Critical thinking is valued in this process as it is necessary to analyze both the opposing elements of an idea and o perform the synthesis of writer, reality, la...

Neo-Aristotelian/Classicist Berlin, James. "Contemporary Composition: The Major Pedagogical Theories." College English 44.8 (December 1982): 765-777. In this model, rarely used in current composition classrooms, truth is believed to exist independent of the observer and cab known only trough the senses. Truth is not certain; therefore, the student is not engaged in a quest for individual truth, but rather truth as it can be proven through rational method. As a result, the pedagogical emphasis is on logic and the development of ideas with little emphasis on the analysis or critical thinking of the writer. Positivist/Current-Traditionalist In this model, popular up until the early 1980's, truth is discovered through induction alone. Truth is created by the interplay of sensory impressions and the interpretation of those impressions. The writers task is to shape thought for the reader. Therefore, pedagogical approach is one that focuses on arrangement and style. As i...

This is a follow up on earlier composition theory posts in which I summarized and discussed the Lindemann v Tate debate over whether or not literature should or should not be used in the college composition classroom. One of the key discussion points of Lindemann's statements is that there is no single, widely accepted concept of what a college composition, specifically the freshman composition, course should accomplish. Neither Tate nor the others who followed in the discussion on the use of literature in the composition classroom address her question, what is a composition course meant to do? Consequently, that point is not sufficiently explored in the conversation about whether or not literature belongs in the composition classroom. This absence is a flaw in the discussion, one that could have been corrected had Lindemann's question been addressed. Although the purpose of and philosophy behind college composition courses was not explored fully in the literature discussi...

The first part of July I spent in Boston at the residency week of my MFA program . The second part of July I spent in Orlando at the Romance Writers of America annual conference . Literary then commercial. What's the difference? Here's what I've come up with so far. Literary authors, when asked "What do you write?" don't always have a short, handy answer. They might even blink at you and say, "Fiction." Commercial authors, when asked, "What do you write?" will respond with something concise: "Short contemporary romance under 75,000 words" or "YA steampunk with romantic elements." It makes sense that commercial writers are more in tune with exactly what they are writing and what they are going to do with it. Literary authors ask, "What is the dramatic question?" Commercial authors ask, "What is my hook?" After much stewing, I have come to conclude that both questions are the same. Plot is...