Contemporary Composition Studies: A Guide to Theorists and Terms

(Hardback)

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Composition studies is a rapidly growing and constantly changing field. At present, however, graduate students new to the field and writing teachers who want to make new connections between theory and practice have little choice of current reference works that define key terms in composition studies and provide information about the scholars and researchers who have shaped and are shaping the discipline. This book supplies this information in an easily accessible format and places both scholars and terms in the context of the field's development. Included are alphabetically arranged entries for 108 individuals who have developed the field and 128 terms central to the discipline. The first part of the book provides entries for leaders in composition studies. Each entry identifies the areas in which the scholar has contributed most influentially to the field and provides both a chronological overview of the person's contributions and a bibliography of representative works. The second part includes entries for terms that are problematic both for newcomers and for those already familiar with the discipline. The entries for the terms show how the disciplinary context has shaped the ways in which they have been used. The entries also indicate how established thinkers in composition studies and other disciplines have explained or defined the terms, provide examples of the terms in context, and list scholars often associated with them. An appendix includes entries for scholars from other disciplines who have contributed to the field.

Reviews

"The book should be a useful resource in graduate courses that introduce students to the field because it covers much ground in relatively few pages....[a] valuable reference work."-Rhetoric Review
Considering the book's scope, it will be excellent for those new to composition or those seeking to familiarize themselves with it, and a good purchase for libraries that support education and composition studies.-Choice
The book should be a useful resource in graduate courses that introduce students to the field because it covers much ground in relatively few pages....[a] valuable reference work.-Rhetoric Review
This work is recommended for college and university reference collections.-American Reference Books Annual
"This work is recommended for college and university reference collections."-American Reference Books Annual
"Considering the book's scope, it will be excellent for those new to composition or those seeking to familiarize themselves with it, and a good purchase for libraries that support education and composition studies."-Choice

Author Bio

EDITH BABIN is Assistant Professor of English and ESL Coordinator at Louisiana State University, where she has taught composition for more than 30 years. KIMBERLY HARRISON is Assistant Professor of English and Director of Composition at Florida International University.