Studying Prose

[JKL]

Would a graduate program in literature or rhetoric and composition be better for studying prose and its styles? I would think the latter, but I'm from the other side of the playground (History) and want the literary folks' input.

[FeetInTheSky]

I've just applied to Rhetoric and Composition programs, so I'm not practicing/quite an expert in any of this, but here's my general impression from the research I've done thus far. 

While you're chasing the right horse with the Rhetoric and Composition focus, you really want to be narrowing that focus to Rhetoric specifically. Rhet/Comp programs are not only interested in writing, but also the teaching of writing. (I, for example, want to study how students from various backgrounds acclimate to academic discourse. Others will want to focus on writing centers, writing across the curriculum, writing-to-learn, or a host of other topics.) If you're really just trying to study how prose works, you're more likely to find success in a Rhetoric program. 

Compare for example, the faculty at Carnegie Mellon, which is purely a Rhetoric program, with that of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, which is listed as Composition and Rhetoric. Sure, there are faculty at Nebraska who study rhetoric, and some who do both composition and rhetoric, but if you're looking for all-prose-all-the-time, I'd advise you to look at programs that are just listed as Rhetoric, like CMU's. Other examples of Rhetoric programs include Berkeley and Northwestern (who actually house their Rhetoric and Public Culture program in their Communications (rather than English) department). You're just more likely to find a cleaner fit.

Again, I'm new to this whole scene so this might only be a slice of the whole picture, but it's what I've got for you right now!

Edit based on @LouisePlease's comment -- there is of course plenty of prose analysis and rhetoric-based work going on in lit programs. (I was in undergrad in lit and practically wrote my thesis based on Wayne Booth's The Rhetoric of Fiction), but I think you'd be remiss to apply to lit programs with the intention of studying the manifestation and effects of prose. Again, we have little info in the OP on what the whole goal is, but that's a guess.

Edited February 12, 2017 by FeetInTheSky

[LouPlease]

Can you be more specific? Prose from a specific time period/region? Or more about language as a construct? Cognitivism? Lacanian theory? On the surface i would agree it seems like rhet/comp is probably a good fit but I also employ a lot of socio-linguistic analysis in my research and I'm a literature route person. The two certainly overlap. Can I get an assist from a rhet/comp person over here? 

[LouPlease]

@FeetInTheSky I think we posted at the same time (name change?). I would agree if your goal is strictly, as FeetInTheSky nicely put it, to study "the manifestation and effects of prose" then a rhet/comp track is probably the better move. If you view linguistic studies as a TOOL or a LENS with which to analyze literature, then I'd say you'd like a literature program. 

[FeetInTheSky]

7 minutes ago, LouisePlease said:

@FeetInTheSky I think we posted at the same time (name change?). I would agree if your goal is strictly, as FeetInTheSky nicely put it, to study "the manifestation and effects of prose" then a rhet/comp track is probably the better move. If you view linguistic studies as a TOOL or a LENS with which to analyze literature, then I'd say you'd like a literature program. 

Yup, we're 100% on the same page. 

And a name change indeed... I figured it's probably best to keep this space private, and my previous username was a little on-the-nose in terms of identification. I STRUGGLED to come up with a replacement, though. 

[JKL]

On 2/11/2017 at 9:55 PM, LouisePlease said:

Can you be more specific? Prose from a specific time period/region? Or more about language as a construct? Cognitivism? Lacanian theory? On the surface i would agree it seems like rhet/comp is probably a good fit but I also employ a lot of socio-linguistic analysis in my research and I'm a literature route person. The two certainly overlap. Can I get an assist from a rhet/comp person over here? 

 

On 2/11/2017 at 9:54 PM, FeetInTheSky said:

I've just applied to Rhetoric and Composition programs, so I'm not practicing/quite an expert in any of this, but here's my general impression from the research I've done thus far. 

While you're chasing the right horse with the Rhetoric and Composition focus, you really want to be narrowing that focus to Rhetoric specifically. Rhet/Comp programs are not only interested in writing, but also the teaching of writing. (I, for example, want to study how students from various backgrounds acclimate to academic discourse. Others will want to focus on writing centers, writing across the curriculum, writing-to-learn, or a host of other topics.) If you're really just trying to study how prose works, you're more likely to find success in a Rhetoric program. 

Compare for example, the faculty at Carnegie Mellon, which is purely a Rhetoric program, with that of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, which is listed as Composition and Rhetoric. Sure, there are faculty at Nebraska who study rhetoric, and some who do both composition and rhetoric, but if you're looking for all-prose-all-the-time, I'd advise you to look at programs that are just listed as Rhetoric, like CMU's. Other examples of Rhetoric programs include Berkeley and Northwestern (who actually house their Rhetoric and Public Culture program in their Communications (rather than English) department). You're just more likely to find a cleaner fit.

Again, I'm new to this whole scene so this might only be a slice of the whole picture, but it's what I've got for you right now!

Edit based on @LouisePlease's comment -- there is of course plenty of prose analysis and rhetoric-based work going on in lit programs. (I was in undergrad in lit and practically wrote my thesis based on Wayne Booth's The Rhetoric of Fiction), but I think you'd be remiss to apply to lit programs with the intention of studying the manifestation and effects of prose. Again, we have little info in the OP on what the whole goal is, but that's a guess.

Sorry for the late response, guys. I tried multiple times to respond but got an error page sort of thing every time.

Forgive my ignorance on the subject and field. My original post could've been clearer. I meant to ask whether a literature or rhet-comp route would be more appropriate for studying writing styles specifically. Are styles even an area worthy of scholarship?

[claritus]

Prose style is totally an area worthy of scholarship, but there are so many factors to consider beyond simply declaring that as your interest. LouisePlease brings up a lot points that I think are still relevant after your response. Realistically, you won't be able to study all prose, or some sort of trans-historical definition of style. Likewise you will have to narrow down your approach; how do you hope to understand style? Are you hoping to look at it through a historical lens, or through some sort of structuralism or narratology? Do you want look at contemporary prose? 18th century prose? Prose in fiction? Prose in pharmaceutical ads? There are so many details that you're omitting, and without them it's very hard to make any sort of useful recommendation. Across disciplines and fields you're going to run into very different definitions of "style," so I'm not even sure you have a relatively stable object of study until you've bracketed your own understanding of the term. 

That said, this course description from a Berkeley seminar with Kent Puckett might be helpful: http://english.berkeley.edu/courses/4293. Does that sound like a course you would want to take, or an approach you're intrigued by? If not, where would the work you hope to do differ?