Response to Durst and Daniell
Arthur T. Zheng
9/23/09
Where Interests Fail to Work in the Composition Class
In a previous response I touched on a theme-based approach to organize the composition class, much of which is linked to students’ interests in a certain field. However, Durst provides examples in Collision Course that call the approach to question: sometimes interests do not work as expected in the composition class.
Problems
That happens when the composition class in the study moved on from personal narratives on an event to the argumentative writing on a problem and its solution. Cris, one of the case-study students, chooses the topic of rape, which is her personal experience. A close review of the sample essay produced on the topic shows that Cris is too close to the topic to produce “a well thought-out argument essay” (Durst, p. 115). Examples are found in her essay where she is too concerned about her experience to remain calm and analytical. In the same group of interest type we find Clarissa, who had a baby when she was 15 years old. In a class discussion on teen pregnancy, she would have contributed well if she has walked out of the shadow of her own experience. In the two examples, the social and cultural contexts exist and function evidently in the process of writing. It is social background that helps shape what is (in Cris’s case) or could have been (in Clarissa’s case) topics of significance in writing. The problem with both Cris and Clarissa lies in their lack of personal distance (Durst, p. 118) to the matter of interest.
To the opposite we find Larry and Chuck, the former intends to write on guns in school and the latter on toxic wastes in the neighborhood. Both topics are of general concern to the public, but neither of the two had any personal engagement in the subject matter. Only vaguely in shape, those matters do not constitute real subjects of interest. In other words, they do not carry with them the feature of a social context for the writer.
The only success story in the study is Joshua, the engineering major who picked up an interest in mountain biking. What makes mountain biking a genuine interest, according to Durst (p. 117), is that Joshua not only regards it as a personal involvement but also conducts research into it along his real experience with the sport. As a result, he could relate the personal matter to other social, political, and environmental issues (Durst, p. 117). In reaching out for the broader meaning of mountain biking, Joshua has succeeded in distancing himself from what may look to others as too personal to be concerned.
Implications
Oftentimes one is either too close to (Cris and Clarissa) or too far away from (Larry and Chuck) his or her personal interest to make it possible for valid argumentative writing. How, then, is it possible to find an approach to produce the right type of interests to motivate and feed the writing of argument?
In the case of Joshua, we may have found some hints for a new approach to develop the right interest. He is profoundly interest in a subject matter and, at the same time, he is personally detached from it to allow room for critical reflection. As the little narrative of literary (Daniell, p. 405) points out, research in composition is moving away from the classroom to what she calls extracurriculum of composition writing, which is a part of everyday life. It is true as postmodernism sees it, the contemporary social life has been deconstructed in such a way that we may wonder at the “diversity of discursive species” (Daniell, p. 403). Combining these theories, we could make the claim that the social context is too complex and problems are too many for any writer to understand if he or she is not personally involved. At the same time, the writer must remain critical and personally detached from the social context to allow room for the participation of readers through addressing the problems and contexts as universally concerned. To put simply, the writer has to discover general truth in small matters that he or she may be involved.
Such an understanding of the social context a writer is in is conducive to an experimental approach to writing. By experimental I mean a writer is self-conscious of his or her involvement in a subject matter to experience the entire (or major part of) fullness of that matter. In the process, the writer remains both personally involved and critically detached. He or she takes the role of observer of social events and processes, which enables him or her to keep a proper distance from the subject. Specifically, such observation could take the shape of research, investigation, internship, or even experiments. I do not mean one has to be a teen mother to be able to write a good argument; I mean one an experimental environment has to be constructed to allow critical thinking to take place. Such an environment constitutes a quasi social context that supports the formation of real interests. People may be equally concerned about date rape, for example, as either a victim or a member of date rape society.
Conclusion
The experimental approach to argumentative and other types of writing may serve as a context to facilitate students’ ability to simulate a strong interest (Durst, p. 117).
Arthur T. Zheng
9/23/09
Where Interests Fail to Work in the Composition Class
In a previous response I touched on a theme-based approach to organize the composition class, much of which is linked to students’ interests in a certain field. However, Durst provides examples in Collision Course that call the approach to question: sometimes interests do not work as expected in the composition class.
Problems
That happens when the composition class in the study moved on from personal narratives on an event to the argumentative writing on a problem and its solution. Cris, one of the case-study students, chooses the topic of rape, which is her personal experience. A close review of the sample essay produced on the topic shows that Cris is too close to the topic to produce “a well thought-out argument essay” (Durst, p. 115). Examples are found in her essay where she is too concerned about her experience to remain calm and analytical. In the same group of interest type we find Clarissa, who had a baby when she was 15 years old. In a class discussion on teen pregnancy, she would have contributed well if she has walked out of the shadow of her own experience. In the two examples, the social and cultural contexts exist and function evidently in the process of writing. It is social background that helps shape what is (in Cris’s case) or could have been (in Clarissa’s case) topics of significance in writing. The problem with both Cris and Clarissa lies in their lack of personal distance (Durst, p. 118) to the matter of interest.
To the opposite we find Larry and Chuck, the former intends to write on guns in school and the latter on toxic wastes in the neighborhood. Both topics are of general concern to the public, but neither of the two had any personal engagement in the subject matter. Only vaguely in shape, those matters do not constitute real subjects of interest. In other words, they do not carry with them the feature of a social context for the writer.
The only success story in the study is Joshua, the engineering major who picked up an interest in mountain biking. What makes mountain biking a genuine interest, according to Durst (p. 117), is that Joshua not only regards it as a personal involvement but also conducts research into it along his real experience with the sport. As a result, he could relate the personal matter to other social, political, and environmental issues (Durst, p. 117). In reaching out for the broader meaning of mountain biking, Joshua has succeeded in distancing himself from what may look to others as too personal to be concerned.
Implications
Oftentimes one is either too close to (Cris and Clarissa) or too far away from (Larry and Chuck) his or her personal interest to make it possible for valid argumentative writing. How, then, is it possible to find an approach to produce the right type of interests to motivate and feed the writing of argument?
In the case of Joshua, we may have found some hints for a new approach to develop the right interest. He is profoundly interest in a subject matter and, at the same time, he is personally detached from it to allow room for critical reflection. As the little narrative of literary (Daniell, p. 405) points out, research in composition is moving away from the classroom to what she calls extracurriculum of composition writing, which is a part of everyday life. It is true as postmodernism sees it, the contemporary social life has been deconstructed in such a way that we may wonder at the “diversity of discursive species” (Daniell, p. 403). Combining these theories, we could make the claim that the social context is too complex and problems are too many for any writer to understand if he or she is not personally involved. At the same time, the writer must remain critical and personally detached from the social context to allow room for the participation of readers through addressing the problems and contexts as universally concerned. To put simply, the writer has to discover general truth in small matters that he or she may be involved.
Such an understanding of the social context a writer is in is conducive to an experimental approach to writing. By experimental I mean a writer is self-conscious of his or her involvement in a subject matter to experience the entire (or major part of) fullness of that matter. In the process, the writer remains both personally involved and critically detached. He or she takes the role of observer of social events and processes, which enables him or her to keep a proper distance from the subject. Specifically, such observation could take the shape of research, investigation, internship, or even experiments. I do not mean one has to be a teen mother to be able to write a good argument; I mean one an experimental environment has to be constructed to allow critical thinking to take place. Such an environment constitutes a quasi social context that supports the formation of real interests. People may be equally concerned about date rape, for example, as either a victim or a member of date rape society.
Conclusion
The experimental approach to argumentative and other types of writing may serve as a context to facilitate students’ ability to simulate a strong interest (Durst, p. 117).
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