CCR 632: Composition On and Off the Page

Fall 2017, Wednesdays 5:15-8:05 p.m., HBC 021

Patrick W. Berry, pwberry@syr.edu, office: HBC 239C
office phone: 315-443-1912
office hours: Thursdays, 3:00-4:00 p.m. and by appointment

Course Overview
This course focuses on shifting understandings of composition and its teaching. It explores how
educators have had to look off the page to historical and social contexts, to people in process, and
to our increasingly global landscape. The course asks you to situate your own pedagogical values
with and against those of other scholars and teachers in the field, considering central questions
including the place of multimodality, the role of response, the teaching of genre, and the
connections between composition pedagogy and writing across the curriculum.

Recommended Course Texts

Bruce Horner, and Laura Tetreault, ed. Crossing Divides: Exploring Translingual Writing Pedagogies and
Programs. Logan: Utah State University Press, 2017.

Jody Shipka. Toward a Composition Made Whole. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2011.

Mary Soliday. Everyday Genres: Writing Assignments Across the Disciplines. Carbondale: Southern Illinois
UP, 2011.

All course readings are available on Blackboard.

Requirements
1) Responses to readings (approximately 600-900 words). See schedule for details. Post your
response to Blackboard by noon on Wednesday, and bring your laptop as well as print or
electronic copies of readings to class. Because of the structure of the class, late work will not be
accepted. Well begin each class by discussing your responses to the readings. Note that missing
more than two responses will impact your grade.
2) Attend Paul Prior and Jody Shipka presentation and workshops (if not possible, please discuss with
me):
November 8: Enough with All These Border Walls: Redrawing Disciplinary Becoming and
Belonging, workshop with Paul Prior, 9 a.m.-12 p.m., 304 Tolley
November 8: Making and Remaking a Literate Life: Being, Longing, Belonging, co-presentation
by Paul Prior and Jody Shipka, 2:15 p.m.-3:45 p.m., room tk
November 9: Making, Being, and Belonging Through Multimodal Composing, workshop with
Jody Shipka, 9 a.m.-12 p.m., 304 Tolley
3) Serve as leader of discussion on assigned readings for one class. During your presentation, you will
introduce one supplemental article-length reading to the class. You and I will meet once before you
lead the discussion.

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4) Mid-semester presentation (10 minutes) at a symposium, entitled We Make the Road by Walking:
Exploring the Theory/Practice Divide, that will take place during class time on October 11. Your
work toward this symposium could serve as the basis for your final paper.
5) Teaching statement.
6) Writing project (approximately 15 to 20 pages or the digital equivalent) on a topic related to
composition pedagogy and your particular research interest.

Grades
Your grade for the course will be based on an overall assessment of your work. I will consider your
final project, presentation, participation, and engagement with the readings through your weekly
writings. As a general rule, late work will not be accepted.

Special Needs and Situations

If you believe that you need accommodations for a disability, please contact the Office of Disability
Services (ODS), http://disabilityservices.syr.edu, located in Room 309 of 804 University Avenue,
or call (315) 443-4498 for an appointment to discuss your needs and the process for requesting
accommodations. ODS is responsible for coordinating disability-related accommodations and will
issue students with documented disabilities Accommodation Authorization Letters as appropriate.
Since accommodations may require early planning and generally are not provided retroactively,
please contact ODS as soon as possible.

Syracuse University and I are committed to your success and to supporting Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This means that in general no individual who is otherwise qualified shall
be excluded from participation in, be denied benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under
any program or activity solely by reason of having a disability.

Academic Integrity
Syracuse Universitys Academic Integrity Policy reflects the high value that we, as a university
community, place on honesty in academic work. The policy defines our expectations for academic
honesty and holds students accountable for the integrity of all work they submit. Students should
understand that it is their responsibility to learn about course-specific expectations, as well as about
university-wide academic integrity expectations. The policy governs appropriate citation and use of
sources, the integrity of work submitted in exams and assignments, and the veracity of signatures
on attendance sheets and other verification of participation in class activities. The policy also
prohibits students from submitting the same work in more than one class without receiving written
authorization in advance from both instructors. Under the policy, students found in violation are
subject to grade sanctions determined by the course instructor and non-grade sanctions determined
by the School or College where the course is offered as described in the Violation and Sanction
Classification Rubric. SU students are required to read an online summary of the Universitys
academic integrity expectations and provide an electronic signature agreeing to abide by them twice
a year during pre-term check-in on MySlice.

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Religious Observance
SUs religious observances policy, found at http://supolicies.syr.edu/emp_ben/religious_observance.htm,
recognizes the diversity of faiths represented among the campus community and protects the rights
of students, faculty, and staff to observe religious holy days according to their tradition. Under the
policy, students are provided an opportunity to make up any examination, study, or work
requirements that may be missed due to a religious observance provided they notify their
instructors before the end of the second week of classes. For fall and spring semesters, an online
notification process is available through MySlice/Student Services/Enrollment/My Religious
Observances from the first day of class until the end of the second week of class.

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Course Schedule

1. Introductions (August 30)

Review course requirements; participate in writing process activity; review discussion list.

Donald M. Murray. Teach Writing as a Process Not Product. Cross-Talk in Comp Theory:
A Reader. Ed. Victor Villanueva and Kristin L. Arola. Urbana: NCTE, 2011. 36.

David Bartholomae. Inventing the University. Journal of Basic Writing 3.1 (1986): 423.

2. Bad Ideas About Writing/Teaching Statements (September 6)

Patricia Roberts-Miller. Rhetoric Is Synonymous with Empty Speech. Bad Ideas About
Writing. Edited by Cheryl E. Ball and Drew M. Loewe. Morgantown: West Virginia
University Libraries, Digital Publishing Institute. 712.

Jacob Babb. America Is Facing a Literacy Crisis. Bad Ideas About Writing. Edited by
Cheryl E. Ball and Drew M. Loewe. Morgantown: West Virginia University Libraries,
Digital Publishing Institute. 1317

Ellen C. Carillo. Reading and Writing are Not Connected. Bad Ideas About Writing. Edited
by Cheryl E. Ball and Drew M. Loewe. Morgantown: West Virginia University Libraries,
Digital Publishing Institute. 3843.

Collin Gifford Brooke. The Passive Voice Should be Avoided. Bad Ideas About Writing.
Edited by Cheryl E. Ball and Drew M. Loewe. Morgantown: West Virginia University
Libraries, Digital Publishing Institute. 13943.

Patricia Dunn. Teaching Grammar Improves Writing. Bad Ideas About Writing. Edited by
Cheryl E. Ball and Drew M. Loewe. Morgantown: West Virginia University Libraries,
Digital Publishing Institute. 14449.

Cydney Alexis. Creative Writing Is a Unique Category.Bad Ideas About Writing. Edited by
Cheryl E. Ball and Drew M. Loewe. Morgantown: West Virginia University Libraries,
Digital Publishing Institute. 18793.

Assignment due: Write a 600- to 900-word response essay describing where you stand in
relation to these views. Do you agree? Disagree? Why do these ideas persist?

3. Responding to and Reimagining Student Writers (September 13)

Nancy Sommers. Responding to Student Writing. College Composition and
Communication 33.2 (1982): 14856.

Peter Elbow. Ranking, Evaluating, and Liking: Sorting Out Three Forms of Judgment.

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 College English 55.2 (1993): 187206.

James P. Purdy and Joyce R. Walker. Liminal Spaces and Research Identity: The
Construction of Introductory Composition Students as Researchers. Pedagogy 13.1 (2013):
941.

Ellen C. Carillo. Making Reading Visible in the Classroom. Currents in Teaching and
Learning 1.2 (2009): 3741.

Discussion leader 1: Benesemon

Assignment due: Write a 600- to 900-word open response and draft a 600- to 900-word
preliminary teaching statement. You might find it helpful to look online to see how other
scholars in the field represent their teaching.

4. Translingual Writing Pedagogies (September 20)

Sara P. Alvarez, Suresh Canagarajah, Eunjeong Lee, Jerry Won Lee, and Shakil Rabbi.
Translingual Practice Ethnic Identities and Voice in Writing. Crossing Divides: Exploring
Translingual Writing Pedagogies and Programs. Logan: Utah State University Press, 2017. 3147.

Bruce Horner. Teaching Translingual Agency in Iteration Rewriting Difference. Crossing

Divides: Exploring Translingual Writing Pedagogies and Programs. Logan: Utah State University
Press, 2017. 8797.

Paul Kei Matsuda. Teaching Composition in the Multilingual World: Second Language
Writing in Composition Studies. Exploring Composition Studies: Sites, Issues, and Perspectives.
Ed. Kelly Ritter and Paul Kei Matsuda. Logan: Utah State University Press, 2012. 3651.

A. Suresh Canagarajah. A Rhetoric of Shuttling Between Languages. Cross-

Language Relations in Composition. Ed. Bruce Horner, Min-Zhan Lu, and Paul Kei Matsuda.
Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2010. 15879.

Jay Jordan. Material Translingual Ecologies. College English 77.4 (2015): 36481.

Discussion leader 2: David

Assignment: Write a 600- to 900-word response essay considering what pedagogical practices
you might recommend with regards to our work with translingual students. Write a
paragraph in which you identify your topic and at least two readings that inform your
understanding.

5. Writing and the Potential for Social Transformation (September 27)

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 Paula Mathieu. Selection from Tactics of Hope: The Public Turn in English Composition.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2005.

Myles Horton and Paulo Freire. Selection from We Make the Road by Walking: Conversations
on Education and Social Change. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1990.

Ira Shor. Selection from Critical Teaching and Everyday Life. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 1987.

Discussion leader 3: Gemma

Assignment due: Submit a draft (approximately 1,500 words) of your symposium

presentation.

6. Composition, Assemblage, Remix (October 4)

Johndan Johnson-Eilola and Stuart A. Selber. Plagiarism, Originality, Assemblage.
Computers and Composition 24.4 (2007): 374403.

Dustin W. Edwards. Framing Remix Rhetorically: Toward a Typology of Transformative

Work. Computers and Composition 39 (2016): 4154.

Kathleen Blake Yancey and Stephen J. McElroy. Assembling Composition: An

Introduction. Assembling Composition. Ed by Yancey and McElroy. Urbana: NCTE, 2017.
323.

Stephen J. McElroy and Travis Maynard. Copy, Combine, Transform: Assemblage in

First-Year Composition. Assembling Composition. Ed by Yancey and McElroy. Urbana:
NCTE, 2017. 101119.

William S. Burroughs. Les Voleurs. The Adding Machine. New York: Seaver Books,
1986. 1921.

Discussion leader 4: Mike

Special guest: Dustin Edwards

Assignment due: Write a 600- to 900-word response that answers this question: How might
understandings of assemblage and remix impact the way we teach writing?

7. Symposium/Teaching Statements (October 11)

We Make the Road by Walking: Exploring the Theory/Practice Divide

Symposium Presentations

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 Description: Finding time to reflect on our pedagogical practices and consider how they
connect with our histories and theories is critically important, yet such reflection is often
overlooked once we are fully immersed in our teaching. This symposium begins to explore
such connections.

Assignment due: Submit your symposium presentation and your revised teaching statement
to share with the class.

8. (October 18)
No class meeting

9. Genre and Rhetoric: Making Connections (October 25)

Mary Soliday. Selection from Everyday Genres: Writing Assignments Across the Disciplines.
Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2011.

Amy Devitt. Selection from Writing Genres. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press,
2008.

Lloyd F. Bitzer. The Rhetorical Situation. Philosophy & Rhetoric 1.1 (1968): 114.

Anis Bawarshi. The Genre Function. College English 62.3 (2000): 33560.

Discussion leader 5: Ana

Assignment due: Write a 600- to 900-word response essay in which you reflect on the
relationship between rhetoric and genre.

10. Composition @ Syracuse (November 1)

Lois Agnew. Teaching Propriety: Unlocking the Mysteries of Political Correctness.
College Composition and Communication 60 (2009): 746-64.

Krista Kennedy and Rebecca Moore Howard. Collaborative Pedagogy, Paper to

Digital. A Guide to Composition Pedagogies, 2nd edition. Eds. Gary Tate, Amy Rupiper
Taggart, Kurt Schick, and H. Brooke Hessler. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013.

Margaret Himley. Facing (Up to) the Stranger in Community Service Learning. College
Composition and Communication 55 (2004): 416-38.Gesa E. Kirsch and Joy S. Ritchie. Beyond
the Personal: Theorizing a Politics of Location in Composition Research. College
Composition and Communication 46.1 (February 1995): 729.

Tony Scott. Subverting Crisis in the Political Economy of Composition. College

Composition and Communication 68.1 (2016): 1037.

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 Derek Mueller. Mapping the Resourcefulness of Sources: A Worknet Pedagogy.
Composition Forum 32 (2015): http://compositionforum.com/issue/32/mapping.php.

Discussion leader 6: Thomas

Assignment due: Write a 600- to 900-word open response to the readings.

11. Literacy, Longing, and Belonging (November 8)

In lieu of our normal class, please attend Prior and Shipka presentation and workshops (if
not possible, please discuss with me):

November 8: Enough with All These Border Walls: Redrawing Disciplinary Becoming
and Belonging, workshop with Paul Prior, 9 a.m.-12 p.m., 304 Tolley

November 8: Making and Remaking a Literate Life: Being, Longing, Belonging, co-
presentation by Paul Prior and Jody Shipka, 2:15 p.m.-3:45 p.m., room tk

November 9: Making, Being, and Belonging Through Multimodal Composing,

workshop with Jody Shipka, 8:30 a.m.-12 p.m., 319 Sims

Paul Prior. Selection from Writing/Disciplinarity: A Sociohistoric Account of Literate Activity in the
Academy. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 1998.

Paul Prior. Foreword to Kevin Roozen and Joe Ericksons Expanding Literate Landscapes:
Persons, Practices, and Sociohistoric Perspectives of Disciplinary Development. Logan, Utah State
University Press: http://ccdigitalpress.org/expanding/foreword.html.

Jody Shipka. On Estate Sales, Archives, and the Matter of

Making Things. Provocations
http://ccdigitalpress.org/reconstructingthearchive/shipka.html

Jody Shipka. Selection from Toward a Composition Made Whole. Pittsburgh: University of
Pittsburgh Press, 2011.

Assignment due: Write a 600- to 900-word open response to the readings.

12. Student (and Teacher) Identity and the Politics of Composition (November 15)
Special guest: Seth Davis, CCR doctoral student

Jonathan Alexander. Telling the Truth about Sex: Rhetorical Responsiveness in the Case
of Ted Haggard. JAC 34 12 (2014). 10431.

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 Aja Y. Martinez. A Plea for Critical Race Theory Counterstory: Dialogues Concerning
Alejandras Fit in the Academy. Composition Studies. 42.2 (2014). 3355.

Elaine Richardson. English-Only, African American Contributions to Standardized

Communication Structures, and the Potential for Social Transformation. Cross-
Language Relations in Composition. Ed. Bruce Horner, Min-Zhan Lu, and Paul Kei Matsuda.
Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 201. 97112.

Sondra Perl. Facing the Other: The Emergence of Ethics and Selfhood in a Cross-
Cultural Writing Classroom. Narration as Knowledge: Tales of the Teaching Life. Ed. Joseph
Trimmer. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook, 1997, 17390.

Jacqueline Jones Royster. "When the First Voice You Hear Is Not Your Own:' College
Composition and Communication 47.1 (1996): 29-40.

Assignment due: Write a 600- to 900-word response explaining what connections you see
between these readings.

Discussion leader 7: Stephanie

Thanksgiving break (November 19-November 26)

13. Multimodality and Access/Paper Workshop (November 29)

Allison Hitt. Access for All: The Role of Dis/ability in Multiliteracy Centers. Praxis: A
Writing Center Journal 9.2 (2012): http://www.praxisuwc.com/hitt-92.

Melanie Yergeau, Elizabeth Brewer, Stephanie Kerschbaum, Sushil K. Oswal, Margaret

Price, Cynthia L. Selfe, Michael J. Salvo, and Franny Howes. Multimodality in Motion:
Disability & Kairotic Spaces. Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy 18.1 (Fall
2013): http://kairos.technorhetoric.net/18.1/coverweb/yergeau-et-al/index.html.

Assignment due: Complete draft

14. (December 4) Sharing from near final papers.

Final projects are due on Monday, December 11.