Abstract

This essay revisits two proposals for the abolition of compulsory freshman English: Thomas Lounsbury’s “Compulsory Composition in Colleges” in 1911 and Oscar James Campbell’s “The Failure of Freshman English” in 1939. It demonstrates how the New Literacy Studies provides a generative theoretical perspective from which to make more visible the assumptions, definitions, and attitudes about literacy that perpetuate the compulsory composition debate.

Journal
Literacy in Composition Studies
Published
2013-10-31
DOI
10.21623/1.1.2.3
CompPile
Open Access
OA PDF Gold
Topics
Export

Citation context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

References (59) · 8 in this index

  1. Arnove, Robert F., and Harvey Graff, eds. National Literacy Campaigns in Historical and Comparative Perspecti…
  2. Barton, David. Literacy: An Introduction to the Ecology of Written Language. Malden: Blackwell, 1994. Print.
  3. Berlin, James A. Rhetoric and Reality: Writing Instruction in American Colleges, 1900–1985.
  4. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 1987. Print. Studies in Writing and Rhetoric Series.
  5. Beyer, Thomas Percival. “Anent Compulsory Composition in Colleges.” Educational Review 44 (1912): 77-86. Print.
Show all 59 →
  1. Campbell, Oscar James. “The Failure of Freshman English.” English Journal coll. ed. 28 (1939): 177-85. Print.
  2. —. The Teaching of College English. New York: Appleton-Century, 1934. Print.
  3. Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences. The Heart of the Matter: The Humanities and Social Sciences…
  4. Connors, Robert J. “The Abolition Debate in Composition: A Short History.” Selected Essays of Robert J. Conno…
  5. —. Composition-Rhetoric: Backgrounds, Theory, and Pedagogy. Pittsburgh: U of Pittsburgh P, 1997. Print. Pitts…
  6. —. “The New Abolitionism: Toward a Historical Background.” Petraglia 3-26.
  7. Cushman, Ellen, et al., eds. Literacy: A Critical Sourcebook. New York: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2001. Print
  8. Finnegan, Ruth. “Literacy versus Non-literacy: The Great Divide?” Modes of Thought: Essays
  9. on Thinking in Western and Non-Western Societies. Ed. Robin Horton and Ruth Finnegan. London: Faber, 1973. Print.
  10. Fleming, David. From Form to Meaning: Freshman Composition and the Long Sixties, 1957-1974. Pittsburgh: U of …
  11. Goody, Jack, and Ian Watt. “The Consequences of Literacy.” Language and Social Context. Ed. Pier Paolo Giglio…
  12. Graff, Harvey J. The Labyrinths of Literacy: Reflections on Literacy Past and Present. 2nd ed. Pittsburgh: U …
     ↗
  13. —. The Legacies of Literacy: Continuities and Contradictions in Western Culture and Society. Bloomington: Ind…
  14. —, ed. Literacy and Historical Development: A Reader. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 2007. Print.
  15. —. The Literacy Myth: Cultural Integration and Social Structure in the Nineteenth Century. New Brunswick, NJ:…
  16. —. “The Literacy Myth at Thirty.” The Journal of Social History 43 (2010): 635-61. Print.
     ↗
  17. Lounsbury, Thomas R. “Compulsory Composition in Colleges.” Harper’s Monthly Magazine Nov. 1911: 866-80. Print.
  18. North, Stephen. The Making of Knowledge in Composition: Portrait of an Emerging Field. Upper Montclair: Boynt…
  19. College Composition and Communication
  20. College Composition and Communication
  21. Rose, Mike. “The Language of Exclusion: Writing Instruction at the University.” The
  22. Norton Book of Composition Studies. Ed. Susan Miller. New York: Norton, 2009. 586-604. Print.
  23. College Composition and Communication
  24. Rhetoric Review
  25. Scribner, Sylvia, and Michael Cole. “Unpackaging Literacy.” Social Science Information 17.1 (1978): 19-40. Print.
     ↗
  26. Arnove, Robert F., and Harvey Graff, eds.National Literacy Campaigns in Historical and Comparative Perspectiv…
     ↗
  27. Barton, David.Literacy: An Introduction to the Ecology of Written Language. Malden: Blackwell, 1994. Print.
     ↗
  28. Berlin, James A.Rhetoric and Reality: Writing Instruction in American Colleges, 1900–1985.
     ↗
  29. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 1987. Print. Studies in Writing and Rhetoric Series.
     ↗
  30. Beyer, Thomas Percival. “Anent Compulsory Composition in Colleges.”Educational Review44 (1912): 77-86. Print.
     ↗
  31. Campbell, Oscar James. “The Failure of Freshman English.”English Journalcoll. ed. 28 (1939): 177-85. Print.
     ↗
  32. —. The Teaching of College English. New York: Appleton-Century, 1934. Print.
     ↗
  33. Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences.The Heart of the Matter:  The Humanities and Social Sciences…
     ↗
  34. Connors, Robert J. “The Abolition Debate in Composition: A Short History.”Selected Essays of Robert J. Connor…
     ↗
  35. —.Composition-Rhetoric: Backgrounds, Theory, and Pedagogy. Pittsburgh: U of Pittsburgh P, 1997. Print. Pittsb…
     ↗
  36. —. “The New Abolitionism: Toward a Historical Background.” Petraglia 3-26.
     ↗
  37. Cushman, Ellen, et al., eds.Literacy: A Critical Sourcebook. New York: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2001. Print
     ↗
  38. Finnegan, Ruth. “Literacy versus Non-literacy: The Great Divide?”Modes of Thought: Essays
     ↗
  39. on Thinking in Western and Non-Western Societies. Ed. Robin Horton and Ruth Finnegan. London: Faber, 1973. Print.
     ↗
  40. Goody, Jack, and Ian Watt. “The Consequences of Literacy.”Language and Social Context. Ed. Pier Paolo Gigliol…
     ↗
  41. Graff, Harvey J.The Labyrinths of Literacy: Reflections on Literacy Past and Present. 2nd ed. Pittsburgh: U o…
     ↗
  42. —.The Legacies of Literacy: Continuities and Contradictions in Western Culture and Society.Bloomington: India…
     ↗
  43. —, ed.Literacy and Historical Development: A Reader. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 2007. Print.
     ↗
  44. —.The Literacy Myth:Cultural Integration and Social Structure in the Nineteenth Century. New Brunswick, NJ: T…
     ↗
  45. —. “The Literacy Myth at Thirty.”The Journal of Social History43 (2010): 635-61. Print.
     ↗
  46. Lounsbury, Thomas R. “Compulsory Composition in Colleges.”Harper’s Monthly MagazineNov. 1911: 866-80. Print.
     ↗
  47. North, Stephen.The Making of Knowledge in Composition: Portrait of an Emerging Field. Upper Montclair: Boynto…
     ↗
  48. Petraglia, Joseph, ed.Reconceiving Writing, Rethinking Writing Instruction. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associat…
     ↗
  49. College Composition and Communication
  50. College English
  51. Norton Book of Composition Studies. Ed. Susan Miller. New York: Norton, 2009. 586-604. Print.
     ↗
  52. College Composition and Communication
  53. Rhetoric Review
  54. Scribner, Sylvia, and Michael Cole.  “Unpackaging Literacy.”Social Science Information17.1 (1978): 19-40. Print.
     ↗