Kameo Crable

Document Type

Thesis - University Access Only

Award Date

2006

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department / School

English

Abstract

Throughout the first half of the twentieth century, college students enrolled in the required first-year composition course encountered what had become an entrenched, traditional curriculum--one that stressed, above all else, the grammatical correctness of the essays students composed and that emphasized the reading of canonical texts. These texts ostensibly served a double purpose, instilling in students socially sanctioned values and providing formal and stylistic models that-instructors hoped-would shape student prose. According to James Berlin, "Economic, political, and social developments between 1940 and 1960 had placed in motion a current of ideas that would profoundly affect the teaching of writing" (Writing Instruction 119). In the 1940s and 1960s, two events challenged traditional curriculum. The first, the G.I. Bill of 1944, welcomed into the academy an influx of students who lacked the traditional education of earlier generations of students. The second, the social unrest during the Vietnam era, encouraged students to demand curricula that addressed the pressing social and political issues of the day, as opposed to curricula of the past. Not all welcomed this call for relevance in curricula, however, for some instructors argued that the study of social and political issues through popular culture diluted curricula and sacrificed rigorous academic standards. Thus, composition courses that integrate cultural studies curricula continue to generate debate within the field of English studies generally. In part, those who criticize cultural studies in the composition classroom disapprove of teachers allocating their time to popular culture artifacts such as advertisements, television shows, and movies; they assert that cultural studies mainly encourages students to write essays to justify their personal likes and dislikes of artifacts and phenomena. Mark Edmundson argues, One sometimes wonders if cultural studies hasn't prospered because, under the guise of serious intellectual analysis, it gives the customers what they most want-easy pleasure, more TV. Cultural studies becomes nothing better than what its detractors claim it is-Madonna studies when students kick loose from the critical perspective and groove to the product. (329) On the other hand, those who advocate incorporating cultural studies into the composition classroom argue that cultural studies provides a foundation upon which students can analyze artifacts, decode ideologies, and write cogent arguments. Furthermore, cultural studies offers students a means of interpreting all works-whether canonical or popular. Consequently, proponents view cultural studies as a means by which students can write for the academic community as well as position themselves in contemporary culture, learning to play active, not static, roles. James Berlin argues, The purpose is [for students] to become reflexive agents actively involved in shaping their own consciousness as well as the democratic society of which they are an integral part[ . . . .] [O]nly through understanding the workings of culture in shaping consciousness can students ever hope to achieve any degree of singularity. ("Into the Classroom" 124) In order to understand this controversy, then, I trace the significant movements in composition curricula, describe cultural studies and its history, identify its critics and proponents, and examine the pedagogical methodology of cultural studies curricula. Furthermore, I reflect upon my teaching experiences at South Dakota State University (SDSU) and consult the published accounts of instructors who have taught cultural studies in composition as a practical means of assessing the usefulness of such curricula. In evaluating the dialogue between critics and proponents, I find that, most often, critics misconstrue cultural studies in their complaints. Furthermore, I argue that, although cultural studies is a substantial shift from traditional curricula, it does provide students with engaging and rigorous curricula. Additionally, in regard to composition instruction at SDSU, I propose ways for instructors to help students adapt to and succeed in the cultural studies and composition classroom.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

English language -- Rhetoric -- Study and teaching (Higher)

English language -- Composition and exercises -- Study and teaching (Higher)

Culture -- Study and teaching (Higher)

Popular culture -- Study and teaching (Higher)

Format

application/pdf

Number of Pages

107

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