Thesis
The rhetoric of composition labor
Washington State University
Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
2013
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/104170
Abstract
Abstract: This thesis examines the rhetoric of labor in composition studies. I explore how the “labor crisis” is approached from both inside and outside the discipline: how different groups conceptualize the problem and its historical causes, how they assign blame to certain groups or practices, and how they conceive of and propose solutions to the problem. In my first chapter, I take up the outsider critiques of Marc Bousquet and argue that composition has mischaracterized and misunderstood his arguments and the larger theoretical framework that he works from. I then tease that framework and show how it operates from outdated, problematic Orthodox Marxist premises. In Chapter Two, I examine the ways in which labor is conceptualized within the field and identify two dominant rhetorical trends—pecuniary emulation and pedagogical displacement—that I argue hinder labor progress in the context of a corporate university. Finally, in Chapter Three I propose Antonio Gramsci’s notion of the “new intellectual” as the ideal institutional figure for WPAs to aspire to. I suggest several ways that WPAs might interrupt dominant rhetorical narratives and work towards a more labor-conscious, labor-oriented theory of agency. v Table of Content
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Details
- Title
- The rhetoric of composition labor
- Creators
- Thomas John Pickering
- Contributors
- Wendy Olson (Degree Supervisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- English, Department of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University; [Pullman, Washington] :
- Identifiers
- 99900525114401842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis