A cultural history of the origins of composition studies that sheds new light on contemporary debates regarding the role of rhetoric in student transformation.

Using Bakhtinian theory, this study reveals how and why readers routinely refer to the words and ideas of others to interpret the meanings and implications of the books they read.

Examines the escalating literacy demands of the new workplace, and makes suggestions for reshaping traditional English classes to better equip students with new skills to meet these needs.

Brings the insights of narrative theory to bear upon the genre of nature writing, to explore the social or ethical purposes of solitude in stories of retreat in nature.

Presents a clear and forceful counter-statement about tensions and trends in contemporary English studies, offering at the same time a carefully reasoned critique of rationalistic forces within education and culture generally.

This glimpse into factories, hospitals, other work settings, and work-related literacy programs, shows the massive changes in expectations for workers' "skills" in the twenty-first century, especially regarding language and literacy.

Describes the experiences of a group of adult Brazilian women in a literacy program with explicit emancipatory objectives.

This dialogue between teachers of writing in China and America on what constitutes "good writing," reveals that standards are culturally situated.

Stressing the social dimensions of composing, this book inquires into the problems of interpreting and representing writers' talk in both academic and self directed writing groups, arguing for the value ...

This is a book about the usual teacher-student relationship in composition courses. It disrupts and rewrites the commonplace conception of the relationship by revealing the uneven ways in which power ...

Literacy as Social Exchange examines the intersection of culture and literacy education. In particular, it explores the roles that class, race, ethnicity, and gender play in students' learning to negotiate ...

This book presents a selective, introductory reading of key texts in the history of magic from antiquity forward, in order to construct a suggestive conceptual framework for disrupting our conventional ...

This book examines Eastern philosophies of meditative silence in the context of Western rhetoric and discourse theory, arguing that silence is an authentic mode of knowing. Rather than an emptiness that ...

This book examines the linkage between literacy and linguistic diversity, embedding them in their social and cultural contexts. It illustrates that a more complete understanding of literacy among diverse ...

Does literature serve a humanizing function? Can it achieve social transformation? What roles does literature play for defining self, creating community, and achieving global perspective? This is the ...

This text provides a variety of practical and theoretical approaches to computer classroom design. Pedagogical, ethical, and political issues are discussed as well as nuts-and-bolts construction, adapting ...

How is language acquisition possible? How is it that humans, within a few years of birth, can speak and understand language, transcending both its limited experience and biological limitations?

In this ...

Making all children "ready to learn" is the first, and probably the most important, national education goal for the year 2000. What does it mean for children to be "ready to learn?"

This book is about ...

This book explores the gendered historical and social contexts and discursive traditions that have characterized journals and diaries in academic discourse. The tension between the term "journal," which ...

This book redefines the nature of textual difficulty in literature and shows the implications of the new definition for teachers at all levels of education. Contrary to the traditional use of grade levels ...

This book raises important questions concerning the "shame" of illiteracy. What does it mean to students to be drawn into a world where family and friends cannot follow? Can the same person appear literate ...

This book recognizes and embraces the complexities of modern English teaching. It presents English teachers and teacher educators with a critical view of current professional issues and concerns in the ...