The transformation of higher education provision by neoliberal values has been well documented. However, recent criticisms and even attacks upon higher education indicate a new politics extending beyond neoliberalism. This article draws on the sociology of conventions to unpick the distinctions at work in these new criticisms of universities. By…

In light of recent enthusiasm in composition studies (and in the social sciences more broadly) for complexity theory and ecology, this article revisits the debate over how much composition studies can or should align itself with the natural sciences. For many in the discipline, the science debate--which was ignited in the 1970s, both by the…

Colleges and universities currently face challenges in the form of calls for increased accountability, clear economic outcomes and return on investments in education. These challenges emanate from many sectors, including students and families, employers in industry, and state and federal governments. The language of these calls for accountability…

Debates regarding higher education's relevance and responsiveness to societal exigencies have in the past three decades resulted in the development of programs with leitmotifs such as "service learning," "problem-based learning," and "civic engagement" (e.g., "Scholarship on Teaching and Learning," McNair…

I propose that we think about what a paragraph is by considering its "function," what it does in a piece of writing, whether in a popular novel, a newspaper article, an e-mail, a business report, or a lofty piece of literary criticism. We might think about a paragraph as a "rhetorical dwelling."

The dissertation focuses on three academic programs at Tarrant County College, Northeast Campus, specifically the documents used to create and sustain these programs. The purpose of this study includes the following: first, to identify the terminology specific to each program and/or the documents used within the program; second and third to…

In this study, I explore the challenges, tensions, and opportunities facing a major research-intensive public university related to public service and engaged scholarship as the university system and higher education in general increase emphasis on service and engagement. This project was designed in cooperation with the university's Center for…

English 1311: Expository English Composition is the first semester course in a two-semester first-year composition (FYC) sequence. Both ENG 1311 and its second-semester counterpart, ENG 1312, are required for all students unless they have transfer credit covering this requirement or place out of one or both of the courses via the College-Level…

Teachers of rhetorical criticism need not wait for critics to reach agreement on only one usage of "rhetoric" as a theoretical construct, but can use the various ways it is conceived as an educational resource. This document describes nine kinds of critics, each of whose sense of rhetoric can be useful in suggesting to students ways to unravel a…

Recently, genre studies have become increasingly important in the area of rhetorical criticism. This method of analysis is based on the assumption that rhetorics vary situationally, like situations will produce like rhetorics, antecedent rhetorical events significantly affect the creative product, and analogy is more important than anomaly when…

Defines "stock issue" by the manner in which they function in Aristotle's theory, reviews examples of modern theories of stock issues, examines previous investigations of the "Rhetoric," and analyzes Aristotle's approach to this aspect of argumentation. (MH)

Traces the genesis of Plato's "conflict" psychology and documents the influence of this genesis on his discussion of rhetoric in the Gorgias and Phaedrus. (Ed.)

Offers theoretical distinctions among the terms sacred, myth, ideology, and political myth. Analyzes representative speeches and debates on imperialism in the United States and Great Britain and contends that the distinction between the two rhetorical typologies concurrently existing in each nation account for the dominance of imperialist rhetoric…

Examines the relationship between rhetorical theory and rhetorical criticism, and discusses the current evolution of rhetorical criticism and the theoretical suppositions accounting for this evolution. (MH)

Investigates the interrelation of the histories of rhetoric and literary studies by examining in detail the writings of Victorian sage Walter Pater. (SR)