What I find interesting about this discussion is the extent to which it has
focused on the "reality" or authenticity of college writing instruction. It
sounds to me as if there is quite a bit of agreement that writing in any
context can be perceived as "real" or "authentic" or not and that it can
serve various purposes, including helping students learn how to take
pleasure in their writing and in producing a polished piece. Yet, I also
sense a need to reaffirm the legitimacy of college writing instruction in
this discussion and if that is the case, I wonder why.
I wonder because I perceived the article that gave rise to this discussion
somewhat differently, and it perhaps depends on the kind of course I had in
mind when I was reading it. What I was thinking about was a course titled
"Communication in Management," which has as its focus writing in a context
(mostly the business world) that is different from the one where this type
of writing is being taught (the college course environment). As a result,
what I thought was beneath the terms "real" and "college" was the fact that
a course that purports to teach writing in a different context from the one
where it is located will probably address writing across contexts in some
way.
In fact, we hardly ever write in only one context; we often write across
contexts, regardless of the particular career we choose. So, as some of the
listserv members have suggested, such a course can offer a unique
opportunity for students to learn how to understand situations and people in
different contexts in order to communicate with them (rather than perhaps
"at" them as writers sometimes do when they don't quite understand how to
analyze the contexts into which they venture). For this type of course and
this particular purpose, then, the question becomes, how do we best do this
kind of work and what guides us in choosing the type of approach we take
(e.g. case study, client project, inquiry project, in-class simulations,
etc.). I believe they all have their rewards and their challenges. But which
type of approach (or combination of approaches) do the students (perhaps
students with various learning styles) benefit from the most?
Thanks to Russ Hunt for an inspiring article and to everyone for an
interesting discussion! Best, Doreen Starke-Meyerring.
-----Original Message-----
From: CASLL/Inkshed [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Natasha Artemeva
Sent: Saturday, January 17, 2004 3:49 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Inkshed 20.3 is here!
I should've written a more contextualized message, I guess. When I use
the word "real," I simply echo the terminology of "Worlds Apart" and a
series of long discussion we've had here on CASLL/Inkshed and with CATTW
members, discussing "authenticity" of workplace writing vs. school
writing (mostly, from the rhetorical genre perspective & AT). The
observation that workplace writing is "authentic" because it serves a
purpose that is located outside of the activity of writing (i.e.,
writing is used to get something done), while school writing is "not
authentic" because its ultimate goal is a grade doesn't make things
clear to me (nor do I always agree with it). What I have been suggesting
for a while is that we treat "authenticity" as part of the context in
which writing takes place and look at it from the perspective(s) of the
major figures involved in the dialogue: the writers and readers.
Natasha
Tom William wrote:
>Re "not real", my understanding about the concept is that it is simply a
>metaphorical and colloquial term that people often use. Not necessarily we
>often become serious about it, or do we take it literally. We know what is
>real and what is not. You gotta see who says it and what the context is.
>Reality of one context not necessarily the reality of another. For
students
>(e.g., undergraduates), many often think I gotta get a good job; I wanna
>live well; therefore, that destination is the "real world" for those
>students. This is just one slice of the pie. Another could be that,
>students finishing Ph.D. and aiming to work in a university, for them that
>university is the "real world" (and in this case it happens to be From a
>university To a university). tom
>
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
To leave the list, send a SIGNOFF CASLL command to
[log in to unmask] or, if you experience difficulties,
write to Russ Hunt at [log in to unmask]
For the list archives and information about the organization,
its newsletter, and the annual conference, go to
http://www.stu.ca/inkshed/
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
To leave the list, send a SIGNOFF CASLL command to
[log in to unmask] or, if you experience difficulties,
write to Russ Hunt at [log in to unmask]
For the list archives and information about the organization,
its newsletter, and the annual conference, go to
http://www.stu.ca/inkshed/
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
