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| navigate: home: magazine: spring/summer 1998: article | |
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Rhetoric and composition Conference explores body theory By Deborah A. Benedetti | |||||||||
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rhetoric: the art of using language so as to persuade or influence others composition: the arrangement of words into sentences, and sentences into poetry or prose
—The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, “When we began this conference 16 years ago, we took a generalist approach in choosing topics within the field,” Selzer said. He is co-founder of the conference and has served as director for four conferences. Crowley, who was a keynote speaker for the 1995 Conference on Rhetoric and Composition while she was on the faculty of the University of Iowa, noted that “our field was relatively new when this conference got started. Now there are a lot more local conferences and graduate programs in rhetoric and composition, so we felt it was time to do something more on the cutting edge.” To plan such a cutting-edge conference, a group of faculty members led by Dr. Christina Haas, a former Penn State faculty member now on the faculty of Kent State University, reconceptualized the conference following the last conference in 1995. They brainstormed about conference formats and topics for the 1997 conference. “The most outstanding change is that the conference is now electronic, as well as face to face,” Crowley said. “All of the papers were submitted well in advance of the conference, and they have been made available to conference participants through a World Wide Web site constructed as an experimental project for the conference by the Outreach Office of Marketing Communications.” Selzer said, “The Web site worked much better than we imagined. We got a tremendous response from people. They cooperated extremely well so that we could distribute drafts electronically before the meeting.” With this new format, conference participants were able to read papers before the conference began. During conference sessions, the authors briefly restated the problem or issue, instead of reading their papers. This format allowed more time for discussion, Crowley said. Conference participants also were able to comment on papers using computers made available during the conference by Penn State Conferences and Institutes. The comments were compiled and distributed daily to participants. Selzer and Crowley praised the Continuing Education staff for assisting in organizing the conference and developing the Web site. They also cited the assistance provided by two graduate students in the rhetoric program: Andy Alexander and Ann George. “We billed this as a working conference,” Selzer said. “The presenters got oral feedback on their work in progress during their sessions. They also got written comments and comments made on the computers. This feedback will have a lot of impact on their work as they bring it to publication. We hope that the new versions of these papers will be published in many different places during the next year or two.” Selzer and Crowley also plan to select some of the 100 papers presented during the conference for inclusion in a book they will edit, which will be published by the University of Wisconsin Press. “We’re hoping that all sorts of projects will result from this conference,” Crowley said. Body theory refers to what human and other physical bodies can tell us about individuals and groups. This theory is somewhat like body language for people and things, taken either individually or collectively. For example, when a group of people enter a room for a meeting, where they sit and what they do and say during the meeting can provide clues about the people and the culture of the group, Crowley explained. Rhetorical theory comes into play in this example through the words people use during the meeting to persuade others to take a desired action. Conference presenters used body theory and material rhetoric to talk about a wide range of issues, including cultural studies, feminism, ethnic studies, gender studies, queer theory, science and medicine, legal studies, literary studies, technology and postmodernism. In one session, presenters analyzed the news media coverage of the death of a young African American man while in police custody; described how gambling casinos use landscaping, lighting, advertising and other elements to attract people to casinos; examined the role of media in providing information that helps groups endure; and attempted to explain representations of the condition known as coma, a deep state of unconsciousness caused by trauma or disease. “We have what we consider to be a very strong rhetoric and composition program in the English Department at Penn State,” Selzer said. “This conference is helping to draw attention to and capitalize on our strengths.” Both Selzer and Crowley are well-known in the rhetoric and composition fields. Selzer, a Penn State faculty member since 1978, is the author of a number of books and articles. His most recent book, Kenneth Burke in Greenwich Village: Conversing with the Moderns, 1915–1931, was published in 1996 by the University of Wisconsin Press. He also is the recipient of awards for Best Collection of Essays for the book Understanding Scientific Prose (1993) and for Best Article on Methods of Teaching for his article “Critical Inquiry in a Technical Writing Course” (1991) from the National Council of Teachers of English. Crowley, who joined the Penn State faculty in 1995, is the author of several books, including Composition in the University: Historical and Polemical Essays, published by Pittsburgh University Press in 1997. Her textbook Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students, published by Allyn and Bacon in 1993, is used by students at universities around the country. A second edition is forthcoming. Crowley previously was professor of rhetoric at the University of Iowa (1993–95) and professor of English at Northern Arizona University (1986–93). an outreach program of the College of the Liberal Arts | ||||||||
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