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English 495: Special Topics in English
Social Class in Composition Studies
Fall 2005

Course description

Since Lynn Z. Bloom’s 1996 characterization of composition as a “middle-class enterprise,” scholars in composition and rhetoric have taken up the question of social class in ways that have affected, among other things, the field’s understanding of what it means to teach writing to students of varying socioeconomic backgrounds, how individual teachers’ socioeconomic backgrounds affect that teaching, and the function of narrative in the development of class consciousness. Social class is a difficult term to define; in this course, we will approach it as 1) a work relation; 2) a cultural heritage; 3) an individual identity or affiliation; 4) a location in the social structure; 5) a rhetorical concept/practice.

Because we live with the myth of a “classless society” in America, much of the struggle of this course will be in establishing the significance of the very thing we’re studying. This course will take a broad approach to understanding the implications of social class for the field of composition studies. We will read Bourdieu’s sociological study of taste, Distinction, for an understanding of the operations of invisible class hierarchies, especially in literacy and education. We’ll read a number of narratives from academics from the working class as we consider the function of narrative in the development of this thing called class consciousness. We’ll read selections from the yet-unpublished work of James Thomas Zebroski, arguably the most important voice on social class in the field.

Some of the questions that will drive the work of the course, as I see it, are:

• How do definitions of “work” vary across social classes, and what are the implications of these variations for the work of college-level writing teachers?
• How is value produced and by whom?
• How does a teacher’s social class identity affect the work she and her students do in an English Studies classroom?
• How do students’ social class identities affect their approach to and/or success with academic work?
• What’s narrative got to do with it?

Required texts

Coursepack available at East Side Rapid Print in Old Union building.

Pierre Bourdieu, Distinction

Pierre Bourdieu, Jean-Claude Passeron, Monique de Saint Martin, Academic Discourse

C.L. Barney Dews and Carolyn Leste Law, This Fine Place So Far From Home: Voices of Academics from the Working Class

Tillie Olsen, Silences (this is out of print, but you can purchase it from www.abebooks.com for around $2.00)

Stephen Parks, Class Politics: The Movement for the Students’ Right to their Own Language

Richard Sennett, The Corrosion of Character: The Personal Consequences of Work in the New Capitalism

Alan Shepard, John McMillan, and Gary Tate, Coming to Class: Pedagogy and the Social Class of Teachers

Carolyn Kay Steedman, Landscape for a Good Woman

Major assignments and grading

Attendance

Because English Studies courses are collaborative in nature, and because this is a graduate seminar where students construct knowledge rather than passively receive it, you are required to attend every class meeting. Because we meet only once a week, absences will be reflected in your final course grade.

 Reading responses (5)

Reading responses are spaces for you to identify, wrestle with, and respond to major issues and ideas in the assigned readings. In some cases, I will ask you to focus your response on a particular issue, but in all cases reading responses are not intended for you to simply summarize the readings. While I understand that some summary is necessary for you to do the work of response, your written responses should be establishing “cross-talk” among the readings and with your own ideas. Pose problems, make note of possibilities for future research, tie the readings to your own experiences as a teacher. It is imperative that you complete the reading responses on the dates assigned, as we will use them as springboards for class discussion. I may ask you in advance to provide copies of your reading responses for classmates.

 Class presentations

On the first day of class, we will determine who will present on which texts throughout the semester. When it is your turn to present, plan on spending fully one-half of class time (70 minutes) leading class discussion of your assigned text. You are the teacher for this time, so you may engage the class in any activity that you believe will help students get the most from the text within the context of the course’s inquiry.

Class narrative

Because one of the primary questions of the course concerns the relationship between social class and narrative, I will ask you to compose your own class narrative as one way of coming to understand this relationship.

Research project

By October 13, you should have a good idea for a research project. Two approaches you might take include: 1) conduct a social class critique of current scholarship in the field; or 2) examine the curricula of one or two writing programs in addition to ISU’s writing program, for their assumptions about social class. You are not, however, limited to these two approaches. I will conference individually with each of you to discuss your research projects.

Grading

Your grade will be calculated based on both the writing you do and on your participation as a member of this class. Because this is a small class and classwork depends on your having completed your work each week, you must commit yourself to meeting deadlines and being prepared for class discussion. Accordingly, your grade will be calculated as follows:

Participation and preparation: 20%

Reading responses (5): 20%

Class presentation: 20%

Class narrative: 20%

Research project: 20%

Course calendar

Contact me at aerobil@ilstu.edu

Department of English at Illinois State University