Cathy's right, I think; the "academic essay" (and she's also right
that it's not a homogenous genre) is "an excuse to get at these
other issues." What I still wonder is why it's so universal to
create situations in which the writing we use to get at other things
has to be so entirely without authentic, intrinsic purposes, writing
written to demonstrate knowledge or ability rather than to persuade,
amuse, engage, inform, etc. And I wonder whether the fact that class
essays are so rhetorically peculiar makes it harder to get at things
like, in Cathy's list,
> --a rhetorical approach to writing and reading
> --an analytical attitude to language.
She says,
> It's struck me for some time that the academic essay is only a
> device to get at these kinds of far more important issues. It's
> like a public relations effort. Students often believe that
> they need to write in the genre of the academic essay.
And it's not only true that they believe it, it's true that they need
to. But I'm not convinced that's a good thing, or that it's
unavoidable.
-- Russ
__|~_
Russell A. Hunt __|~_)_ __)_|~_ Aquinas Chair
St. Thomas University )_ __)_|_)__ __) PHONE: (506) 452-0424
Fredericton, New Brunswick | )____) | FAX: (506) 450-9615
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