I would answer Trimbur’s question, “should writing be studied?” with a yes. However, by answering yes to that question does not mean that I want to pick one narrow definition of Writing or want to answer no to “should we study rhetorics?” I want rhetorics and writings.

As a gta, I need the studying of writing to be justified–even if the process is messy and contentious. I need courses to teach. While it would be nice to have individual courses, in the short term, a broad Topics in Writing would work as long as I didn’t have to compete with Literature students to teach it. I’m so outnumbered that I’d never have the seniority or the stature. Plus, I can’t convince faculty who schedule courses why courses in writing for the web, writing design, technical writing, screenwriting, screencasting, documentaries…etc, etc. would be the types of courses would appeal to a broad audience (I’m thinking here of how my course proposal in writing design was turned down for just that reason.)

I’ve taught professional writing for 4 semesters now. I had thought about teaching composition this semester, but they needed another person to teach professional writing, so I said I’d do it. But, those are my choices right now: professional writing or composition. And, the rhetoric course here is a 4000 level course and so it’s out of my reach.

Then, as a grad student, I need the types of courses that Jenny suggests for Writing Studies:

- emphasize an historical understanding of how certain genres, expectations, and literacy customs came to form in the ways that they have

- help students to understand the connections between cultural ideology and literacy (the English-only debates, for example)

- provide a knowledge of developing media and the cultural changes that such media are creating (think Web 2.0)

Jenny also asks “what these shifted spaces might produce?”

Perhaps, they might produce:

- new frames, ideas, perspectives
- new (proactive) responses (instead of reactions)
- new identities
- new systems

To use Jenny’s example of Reed Elsevier, maybe the next time someone starts a new journal, they’ll choose a different publisher or they’ll check the holdings of the corporation. We can’t know all of the possible ramifications the conversations might have. Sure, I want progress now. If anyone wants to call for a protest, I’m sure there is a local office in NY and lots of us will be there next month…. Does taking the critique public and adding media attention create a different outcome?

In the professional writing course I’m teaching, I’m trying to suggest that there is more than one way to write and design a resume than how their college or the career center advises. Early on, one student said that he didn’t want his resume to stand out from 100 others because he didn’t want to be excluded. It killed me. Thursday we worked on designing a logo for their letterhead and maybe even their resumes. They’re learning how creative and unique they are and how what they have learned and done translates to different audiences. But, this is a teaching example.

I’ve been revisiting George Lakoff[’s text, “don’t think of an elephant,” He talks about how conservatives have the think tanks with ideas and intellectuals who come up with ways to frame issues, and progressives, well, they’re not funded as much.

A carnival also makes me think of merry-go-rounds. If we take this idea of framing and then ask who are we doing critique for? If we’re just Posturing and Critiquing for an audience of others like us, then I can see where it would get old, going round and round, as Jeff suggests and Donna agrees, without any of the excitement of a carnival. Why not sell more tickets? That is, why not widen the audience scope?

I realize that Book #1 usually has to be for an academic audience, but why can’t Book #2 or #3 be for a different audience? (I’m thinking of something on the order of what Johnson or Gladwell has written). I think there is value in reframing for different audiences. I know there is some intellectual disdain from colleagues to get past, but it would be possible, right?

I’d love to learn more about (multimedia) course development and building writing centers with free wireless. I’d like to learn how to get grants and public funds so that with what I learn, I can build things. Yeah, I’d like to study writing so I can learn something new, share what I know with others, and build things. I don’t know that it’s possible to escape critique entirely or that we’d want to, but it might be possible to have less Critique?

By the way, I created a del.icio.us tag, carnival-trimbur if anyone still wants to contribute to the carnival and wants to catch up on all the posts.