Reading Response (9/9/2009)

1) Theory and Practice
“Theory” to Zebroski is a broad concept. According to him, it is not limited to “academic theories” approved by scholars. “But facts are always examined in light of some theory and therefore cannot be disentangled from philosophy,” He quotes from Vygotsky. Since first interested in philosophy in high school and studying philosophy in undergraduate, I also have understood theory in similar way. To perceive and interpret the world (I believe, life is the continuing process of perceiving and interpreting the world, an active or passive communication with the world), one unconsciously or consciously keeps utilizing her own lens. The lenses are sometimes such deep beliefs as religion, cultural code and moral sensibility. Other times, they are simply taste for fashion, food and art. In this sense, although many people complain about the impracticality of philosphy, actually no one can live without philosophy about the world and people. As one literary critic says, there is no such thing as “nontheoretical interpretation.” It is true of every interpretation, I believe.
I think it is so insightful for Zebroski to say, “Theory is practice, a practice of a particular kind, and practice is always theoretical. The question then is not whether we have a theory of composition, that is, a view, or better, a vision of our selves and our activity, but whether we are going to become conscious of our theory.” Therefore, as a teacher, one needs to make students become conscious of their own theories, their own point of views about the world and sophisticate them.

2) Theory and Writing
How can a teacher help students to think deeply about their own theories? In other words, how can a teacher lead students to do metathinking? There are perhaps several ways. However, among them, the best way to reflect on their own beliefs is to write about them. The author says, “The essays enact the process of theorizing and therefore are exploratory. Sometimes I have changed my mind about a key issue. Sometimes I have returned to positions that I had ealirer abandoned. That’s the way life, and the life of the mind, is.” Writing is really the process of theorizing, in other words, the process of thinking, not a fixed idea nor a ready-made product of thought. Writing is a flexible activity, moving ideas here and there, arranging them in logical ways.
Also, writing necessarily entails discussion whether it is a self-discussion as a kind of one’s thinking about thinking or a discussion with teachers and students. While participating in the discussion, students bump into different opinions and if interpreted in the author’s words, encounter with different “rhetorical universes.” In this sense, writing itself as an intersectional activity broadens students’ view of the world, enrich their contents and gives them a chance to reflect on their position about the given issue.

3) Theory and Metawriting
If writing is beneficial for metathinking as the process of sophisticating one’s theory, how is theory beneficial to writing process? Actually, this is the essential question that the author tries to answer through the text. Basically, as we discussed till now, theory is not separated from any practice. Therefore, it is also connected with writing process. When writing, everyone has her own theory, the strategies about how to write. For instance, she does brainstorming to find proper topic and subtopics, organize the structure logically and pick up appropriate words and expressions. However, many of us are not conscious of this theory just as we are not very conscious of our own deep beliefs and positions about the world. A teacher can help students to see this process of thinking and writing and sophisticate their writing strategies. Composing theory in this sense is a helpful guide to make students understand their own writing process better and sophisticate their writing theory, which they already have utilized consciously or unconsciously.