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12/04/2005 Archived Entry: "Yancey"
Shout out to Kathi Yancey who presented an excellent workshop on the profession and a talk on related matters Friday at Wayne. Much of Yancey's talk revolved around Fulkerson's CCC essay "Composition at the Turn of the Century" (previously riffed on at the carnival and James Williams' latest review essay in College English. Dealing with many of the limitations of both pieces, Yancey mapped out a response that worked out of both cultural studies and technology-based scholarship. In the talk, there was also a nod to those who think through issues of writing as they pertain to areas outside of the classroom, a nod which included thoughts on blogging by resident blogger Collin.
Replies: 2 comments
One thing is the mistake Williams makes when he reduces all these works to "autobiography" (Tingle, too, raises the point on Derek's site...and Smit's book is not autobiography at all..). Another point is: what's wrong with autobiography anyway? Williams' assumptions about composition's origins in the "social sciences," if I remember Kathi correctly, need some unpacking.
Posted by jeff @ 12/05/2005 09:40 AM EST
Supercool...
Went and read the Williams review after I saw this, and yowsa:
"My assessment is that the three books examined here suggest that the influence of autobiography has significantly lowered the bar for what constitutes scholarship, for autobiography—directly and indirectly—legitimizes the attenuation of critical reflection on every facet of the scholarly enterprise. As a result, writers may feel relieved of the traditional obligation to support claims with evidence that meets acceptable standards of proof. I believe that this is very dangerous. If unchecked, it will lead to the deprofessionalization of the field."
Now I'm curious to learn more about what Kathi had to say...
Posted by collin @ 12/04/2005 11:11 PM EST