Contention

For this post I started with a Google Image Search: "Contention."

The cover of the 23rd Xanth novel (23rd??!!) caught my eye.

Piers Anthony's Xanth novels were the first books I read without any outside encouragement.  They were the first books for which I would actually go to the bookstore and spend my own money.

I don't think many would describe the books as serious literature, but they were fun, and they were more involved than anything I was being asked to read in sixth grade.  Xanth showed me how novels base themselves in intricate worlds with tremendous amounts of activity taking place off the page.  The books sparked my interest in long form reading and writing.

I owe a lot to the first eight novels in the series.  From there I moved on to Hitchhiker's Guide, then Dune, then Notes From Underground,  and suddenly a lot of books were on my self.  Somewhere in there I started writing.

The trend continued, and years later I was studying fiction writing here at Davis, and then I was in Hungary teaching writing, and now I'm back at UCD studying writing education. 

I've always felt a strong link between my love of literature and the act of writing.

That link is what came to mind when a debate broke out in practicum on Friday.  We were performing a dry run of portfolio grading.

We started discussing the first essay in the portfolio of a student-writer with a particularly strong voice.  That is when things got contentious. 

From what I read, a clearly talented student developed an effective voice for a piece, but unfortunately the composition fell short of coherent. My focus on composition left me wavering between Satisfactory and Unsatisfactory (portfolios can receive 1 of 3 grades, Meritorious, Satisfactory, Unsatisfactory).

Several people disagreed with me. Which was a good thing; unsatisfactory marks and meritorious marks deserve a discussion.  I was thankful to have the opportunity to discuss the case. 

But I was surprised to hear that some readers would have given the essay a Meritorious. These readers were impressed by the student-author's voice and wordplay.  They cited clever phrases, a playful tone, and the essay's ambitious thesis: a suggestion that strong writing is a subjective matter. They were impressed by some of the essay's literary merits.

As the debate developed, I cited the course rubric which states an Unsatisfactory mark should be given when “the organization of the text may be confusing or ineffective.” One of my peers argued that the organization was not problematic and then suggested what I had missed: The essay was strong because it was written in an unconventional mode. 

I was struck dumb for a moment. 

I wanted to be congenial. So I kept this to myself: the comment was insulting. It suggested I had misread a student essay at a very basic level, that I lack the capacity to interpret the modes of discourse explored in a draft UWP 1 essay. 

I have since posted my reaction to this exchange on a course blog, and I hope it sparks a dialogue.  But I bring the story here for a different reason.  

The contentious debate I took part in last week is one aspect of a bigger issue, an issue being addressed in the academic journals and university departments that concern themselves with the teaching of writing.  In CCC's latest issue Melissa Ianetta has a great piece on the subject - the unclear divide between the study of literature and the study of composition. 

That divide is complicated, and it forces us to ask some uncomfortable questions: Is a literature scholar the best person to teach an engineering major how to write?  Shouldn't it be the responsibility of each discipline to instruct its students on its conventions of writing?  Does the teaching of introductory writing demand too much time/effort of literary scholars?  

These questions force us to consider delicate subjects, e.g. expertise, funding, labor, and academic priorities.

So it should be no surprise that a debate got contentious when a group of lit people and comp people statrted discussing an essay with strong literary qualities yet troublesome composition issues.  

One of my new goals here at Davis is to speak openly about the contention this subject inspires.  I think contention can be a good thing, if it helps people solve problems.  

So while I'm here, I want to ask lit people and comp people where they stand.  I want to develop my stance and write about it.  I want to speak to people from other departments who work with students who have gone through writing programs. I want to hear from students who have gone through such programs.  

A lot of these wants can be satisfied by a good literature review, but I think this kind of contention is going to call for open dialogue. I hope I can contribute.