Rhet/Comp & Tech Comm 2015

[foucyeah]

 

Also, foucyeah - your research sounds awesome! My secondary area is in political activism and new media, so it seems like you and I might have some interests in common (though I've never looked at hashtag compositions specifically, so that's an awesome one to think about). It's a fascinating (and ever-changing!) area.

 

Most excellent! We are going to have to swap reading lists sometime--I've been doing a lot of reading on the political theory side of things but am only starting to dip my toes into the new media aspects. 

 

 

Becoming a rhet/comp person made me see more possibilities for my research, and that's how I knew it was the right specialization for me. 

 

How did you all decide to be Rhet/Comp-y folks?

 

 

Mainly by trying everything else first  . I bounced around a lot in my undergrad (Economics->Philosophy->Political Science->Literature->Rhet/Comp) before having an influential professor who helped me discover what it was that I was actually trying to study. For me, one of the most appealing things about Rhet/Comp is how well it lends itself to interdisciplinary study, and its wide-reach of application. 

 

short-time lurker here, but I really love hearing folks talk about how they came to comp/rhet. I came from creative writing, and even though I've been doing this for ~2 years during my MFA, I still feel green. I wonder sometimes if that's the nature of comp/rhet: greenness, wide-eyed curiosity, all of us (many from different fields) coming to the table without ego or preconceptions.

 

at my current institution, comp/rhet classes usually involve a rotating food schedule (the program is very small and tight-knit), so in all honesty, I came to comp/rhet because of the food. 

 

Hello! And I agree, the food during seminar sessions kept me going.

[slightlymoreanonymous]

So I just read the crazy-intense debate happening in "reputation" thread, and it made me really happy to be rhet/comp. Yay for interdisciplinary research with broad applications. Correct me if I'm wrong, but are there any Ivy-type schools that even offer degrees in rhetoric/composition/professional writing? I'm sure the market is fiercely competitive, and prestige still a factor, but at least our field seems to lend itself to a greater diversity of opportunities post-grad. 

 

And I'm with y'all! We switched around bringing food to my last seminar class too...baked goods always make discussing Burke better:) 

[empress-marmot]

 

And I'm with y'all! We switched around bringing food to my last seminar class too...baked goods always make discussing Burke better:) 

 

Maybe I should add this to the list of campus visit questions. "So...what sort of opportunities does your department offer for food?"

[ComeBackZinc]

So I just read the crazy-intense debate happening in "reputation" thread, and it made me really happy to be rhet/comp. Yay for interdisciplinary research with broad applications. Correct me if I'm wrong, but are there any Ivy-type schools that even offer degrees in rhetoric/composition/professional writing? I'm sure the market is fiercely competitive, and prestige still a factor, but at least our field seems to lend itself to a greater diversity of opportunities post-grad. 

 

Nope. I mean, UPenn has the Critical Writing program, but it's taught mainly by non-TT labor. There are no Ivy League rhet/comp doctoral programs, and very few in elite private colleges in general. Stanford has a single rhet/comp faculty member (Andrea Lunsford) who was given a special position precisely so that she would not be threatening to lit faculty.

[bhr]

I think Carnegie Mellon and RPI are the only major programs at private universities (and both are great programs). My personal theory is that entrenched lit faculty at the Ivies (and elsewhere) stifled the chance of R/C programs at their schools.

[rhetoricus aesalon]

Berkeley has a PhD in rhetoric, but the program isn't really recognized as one of the stronger ones in the field -- I'm guessing that students in that program don't actually do rhet/comp; I've heard they tend more toward gender and law studies, and all the faculty are lit/cultural studies people ... so, yeah.

 

Also does anyone know if Stanford is replacing Lunsford? She's emerita now, so unless they have they've no rhet/comp people. 

 

Nancy Sommers is at Harvard ... but she's (wait for it) an adjunct lecturer. I never realized this until this moment when I looked it up. I was shocked. 

[Wonton Soup]

We are too lowly for the Ivy Leagues. There's a lot I could say about it, but it's not maybe worth the effort. Let them rot in antiquity and elitism while they are busy with their real mission of training the next ruling class =)

*rabblerouser*

[ComeBackZinc]

They did a hire for Lunsford's position this season. I didn't follow up to see who got it.

 

And yeah, Berkely Rhet is really a theory and cultural studies program. More Judith Butler than Quintiliian. 

[LCB]

Most excellent! We are going to have to swap reading lists sometime--I've been doing a lot of reading on the political theory side of things but am only starting to dip my toes into the new media aspects. 

 

Definitely! I'm actually in a similar position, funnily enough - I came over from political science, so I have a lot of political texts but am just starting to delve into the new media. It sounds like we have a really similar approach.

[heja0805]

So I just read the crazy-intense debate happening in "reputation" thread, and it made me really happy to be rhet/comp. Yay for interdisciplinary research with broad applications. Correct me if I'm wrong, but are there any Ivy-type schools that even offer degrees in rhetoric/composition/professional writing? I'm sure the market is fiercely competitive, and prestige still a factor, but at least our field seems to lend itself to a greater diversity of opportunities post-grad. 

 

And I'm with y'all! We switched around bringing food to my last seminar class too...baked goods always make discussing Burke better:) 

 

 

I think Carnegie Mellon and RPI are the only major programs at private universities (and both are great programs). My personal theory is that entrenched lit faculty at the Ivies (and elsewhere) stifled the chance of R/C programs at their schools.

 

Syracuse, TCU, Case Western Reserve, and Illinois Institute of Technology (though IIT is tech comm) are the only other private universities I know of that offer PhD programs. University of Denver has a new one, but I don't know much about it. 

 

Also, weekly potlucks in my rhetoric theory and history class made it 1000x more enjoyable! 

[bhr]

Syracuse, TCU, Case Western Reserve, and Illinois Institute of Technology (though IIT is tech comm) are the only other private universities I know of that offer PhD programs. University of Denver has a new one, but I don't know much about it. 

 

Also, weekly potlucks in my rhetoric theory and history class made it 1000x more enjoyable! 

Embarrassingly, since I nearly went there originally as an undergrad, I always thought that 'Cuse was a public school. Sadly, no one has brought meals to any of my classes so far in grad school, but I did manage to get seven free meals between workshops, a conference and recruitment last week. 

[ComeBackZinc]

Every year we do Feed the First Years, where in the first few weeks before we get a paycheck, all the older  cohorts cook and buy a ton of food for the first years, to welcome them and to help them with the financial burdens of being a grad student. It's always blast.

[unræd]

Every year we do Feed the First Years, where in the first few weeks before we get a paycheck, all the older  cohorts cook and buy a ton of food for the first years, to welcome them and to help them with the financial burdens of being a grad student. It's always blast.

 

I'm not at all rhet comp, and I don't mean to barge in, but: that is the single best idea, ever.

[ComeBackZinc]

we keep it family

 

[slightlymoreanonymous]

Comebackzinc, that photo makes my heart happy. 

[mmmscience]

Every year we do Feed the First Years, where in the first few weeks before we get a paycheck, all the older  cohorts cook and buy a ton of food for the first years, to welcome them and to help them with the financial burdens of being a grad student. It's always blast.

 

This is beyond wonderful! It should be a thing everywhere. I shall try to institute it wherever I go...when I am no longer a first year.

[Wonton Soup]

The American Lit people have a pillow fort. I'm bumping this thread to keep up. Currently I have one offer that I am falling in love with, three in waitlist limbo, and one still deliberating. I have a feeling this is going to come down to April 15th =(

 

[mmmscience]

Ack, that is so many waitlists! I'm realizing now that the WL is both a blessing and a curse. I hope your path clears up before April 15th!

 

Also, one week until CCCCs! I hope everyone is totally prepared for their panels/presentations.

 

*is totally not prepared for her panel*

[heja0805]

Waitlists = the worst. I was waitlisted by every program I applied to last year except for one, which accepted me more than two months before I had heard anything from the other programs. I've since been told that this was strange, and it sounds like you're going through a similar experience. I spent that time wondering about my applications, and once I was waitlisted, I had mixed feelings because those were the programs I really wanted to be at...

 

but there's something that can be said about a program that accepts you outright. It indicates that they truly want you there, you're a great fit, and your interests and experience bode well with (and compliment) the other students who were sent acceptances. it shows that they not only want you in their program, but that you have potential to shape their program and they want to learn from you, too. Some programs are very strategic about selecting cohorts in this way, something I didn't realize when I was applying last year. I acknowledge that some programs might not do this, however, yet it's something that I think you should really consider. 

 

Things tend to shake out a bit after CCCC's. It's a busy time of the year, so committees usually just can't find the time to make decisions before C's, and it becomes kind of a milestone marker for the spring semester. You can probably expect to hear more a week or two after C's. There are some programs that meet with recruits informally there, and others commit to programs just prior to C's so that they can network and celebrate with new their programs who hold parties and get-togethers (this is exactly what I did last year). 

 

Also, mmmscience: I'm totally not prepared for my presentation! My presentation last year was kind of disastrous, so I'll be putting a lot more time into preparing for it this time. There was a thread going on the WPA listserv about "tips for new presenters or attendees to the 4Cs conference." I propose to this thread that we create a new conversation: 

 

"How do we move past the stress, professional posturing, the anxieties, and the crap of this conference, hack it, use it for our own uses and purposes, and find something meaningful out of the experience?" 

 

As added crap, the Bedford Party has refused to move back the start time of their annual shindig (6:00-8:00 p.m.), so attendees participating in the annual special interest group (SIG) meetings (these are groups that represent diverse and oppressed voices in our field) will be denied entrance if they show up late (these groups finish at 7:30 p.m.). The scholars for the dream awards are being handed out at this time as well. This might be coincidental, but in any case, I refuse to support a for-profit textbook publisher that benefits from my patronage. So, if you can bear refusing free drinks for two hours --which really isn't a full two hours, based on my experience last year -- then do yourself and everyone in your discipline a favor. Support open access and open-education resources while you're at it. 

 

Rant over. 

Edited March 12, 2015 by heja0805

[bhr]

For what's it is worth, Bedford posted that they've pushed back the start time by an hour, so people can still do SIGs/Scholars and then come over. Since I had to wait to book my flight, I'm now finding myself seeking out all the free meals I can.

[ComeBackZinc]

I thought maybe people considering Purdue R/C would want to see this list of presentations from current Purdue people at CCCC and ATTW this week. Not really a representative sample, of course, but a nice slice of what current students and faculty are working on.

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2VnGW7jBt3xd3c0M2hCSHhDN0E/view?usp=sharing

[empress-marmot]

Question for the Rhet/Comp crowd. I won't be able to make Cs this year, but some of the presentations look really interesting. Would it be rude to email presenters and ask for an abstract?

 

Personally, I'd jump for joy if someone seemed interested in my research. I know that there are a lot of concerns about plagiarism/intellectual copyright, though, so people might be suspicious. What do y'all think? 

[ComeBackZinc]

I would voice it just the way you did here-- if there's anything you can send me that you feel comfortable sending me, etc. Make sure you say upfront that you recognize the fear of people stealing research and understand completely if they don't want to. Otherwise, it's a perfectly reasonable request.

 

Funny/scary story: one of my closest mentors at Purdue is a full prof who is probably the most influential scholar in the history of second language writing. Anyway, he told me that years ago he wrote up some preliminary research and presented it at a second language conference. An assistant prof at the conference stole his research and wrote it up, and by that I mean he had literally taken wording from the slides and information from the handout and put it into his own submission to a major journal. Unfortunately for him, one of the peer reviewers who got assigned to his research was... my professor whose work had been stolen! He contacted the guy and said, look, if you withdraw this paper right now, I won't make this any bigger of a deal, but if I have to I will. The guy did immediately. I guess the drive for tenure just makes people crazy. Scary thing is that if my prof didn't have as much institutional and field authority if he did-- if he was just a grad student, say-- he might not have been able to apply that kind of pressure.

[empress-marmot]

That is terrifying. No wonder people are scared, if that sort of thing happens often. Your mentor must be very compassionate, because he could have ended that assistant professor's career. If it happened to me, I would be tempted to send hard evidence to the miscreant's department head, though that would backfire on my career as well. 

 

Is this why people in the humanities don't collaborate as much as those in the sciences? Fear of the idea-snatchers? 

[ComeBackZinc]

To be clear, I think this sort of thing is very very rare... but I also think that the insane job market leads to crazy pressures that can make people do crazy things.

 

And the prof is one of the kindest, most giving people I've ever known in my life.