{"id":7079,"date":"2006-11-16T20:50:08","date_gmt":"2006-11-16T20:50:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/2006\/11\/16\/north-the-makin\/"},"modified":"2006-11-16T20:50:08","modified_gmt":"2006-11-16T20:50:08","slug":"north-the-makin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/2006\/11\/16\/north-the-makin\/","title":{"rendered":"North, The Making of Knowledge in Composition<\/i>"},"content":{"rendered":"\u23f3 Approximate reading time: <\/span> 6<\/span> mins<\/span><\/span>\n

North,
\n Stephen M. The Making of Knowledge in Composition<\/i>. Upper Montclair,
\n N.J.: Boynton\/Cook, 1987.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

North’s 1987 "portrait"–importantly the first theoretical monograph in the
\nfield–sets out with a few central questions: What counts as knowledge<\/b> in
\nComposition? How will lore<\/b> and practitioner-knowledge<\/b> be valued as
\nthe field pursues professionalization and methodological legitimacy? What
\nis the future of Composition given its methodological pluralism<\/b> and
\nrelated charges about dissolution or disunity? North describes his own method as
\nanthropological<\/b>. He begins with a brief history of the events that
\nfigure into the present climate for composition studies: the large number of
\npractitioners relative to scholars and researchers, the devaluation of
\npractice-as-inquiry and resultant devaluation of practitioners, and the primacy
\nof lore (unregulated, informal, and tacit knowledge about writing and how best
\nto teach it) in the field. <\/p>\n

This is a deceptively simple portrait–both a history of modern composition
\nstudies and a speculative (skeptical?) opening up of questions about the deep
\nproblems facing the field with its methodological pluralism. North
\npresents a typology<\/b> for methodological communities or clusters<\/b>.
\nEach of the eight types<\/b> is assigned a full chapter that includes a brief
\nbibliographic gloss<\/b> (key publications, read primarily through names and
\ntitles), a characterization<\/b> of the community and a comparison<\/b> of
\nit to its nearest neighbors, and an explanation<\/b> (including a list) of the
\ntypical procedures<\/b> involved with the method. According to North,
\npure<\/i> (method-free) practice (and practitioners) begins to count
\ndifferently–as somewhat less than<\/i>–with the 1963 CCCC and Kitzhaber’s
\ncall for leadership and professionalization–exerting, in North’s language,
\n"authority over knowledge about composition" (15). The resulting methodological
\ncommunities or modes of inquiry are distinguished by (aside from method),
\nsize<\/b> in number (Practitioners are the most), relation<\/b> to other modes,
\nand the duality of identification<\/b> (many would also refer to themselves as
\nRhetoricians<\/b>, although North says this is not methodologically helpful)
\n(61-63).<\/p>\n

The eight modes of inquiry (which reflect some, not all<\/i> clusters (137,
\n140)) are:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Practitioners<\/b> (the founding mode; practice as inquiry) (21)<\/li>\n
  2. Scholars<\/b> – Historians<\/b> (rules include new events or new
    \n connections among events; two stages: empirical and interpretive;
    \n first-generation historians focused on pedagogy; second-generation on
    \n institutions and programs) (66)<\/li>\n
  3. Scholars – Philosophers<\/b> (most difficult to account for (91);
    \n challenge to impose coherence) (91);<\/li>\n
  4. Scholars – Critics<\/b> or Hermeneuts (a central mode of literary
    \n studies (116); favored by North; intermediary between historians and
    \n philosophers (116); <\/li>\n
  5. Researchers – Experimentalists<\/b> (replicable results to dis\/confirm
    \n and certify (150)) (141);<\/li>\n
  6. Researchers – Clinicians <\/b>("cases"; subject-oriented and fitting
    \n with psychological studies, cognition, etc.) (197);<\/li>\n
  7. Researchers – Formalists<\/b> (models or simulations; focused on formal
    \n properties of process or activity) (238);<\/li>\n
  8. Researchers – Ethnographers<\/b> (inscribers; Geertz-influences "thick
    \n description"-ists; few of them in 1987 according to North) (272).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    As each group becomes more formidable (in number, publication venues,
    \nconferences, etc.), there comes an increased expectation that practitioners will
    \nfall in. Consequently, methodological pluralism can be framed as a
    \ncontest<\/b>–a "methodological struggle for power" (321)–that begins to
    \nrecruit practitioners<\/b> into particular methodological communities (^Grad
    \nprograms as yet another arm of this?)<\/p>\n

    Defn.
    \nLore<\/b> (22): "the accumulated body<\/b> of traditions, practices, and
    \nbeliefs in terms of which Practitioners understand how writing<\/b> is done,
    \nlearned, and taught." Healthy lore depends upon longevity and breadth (35).<\/p>\n

    Three functional properties of lore:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. "once somebody says<\/b> that it has worked or is working or might
      \n work<\/b>, it is part of lore" (24)<\/li>\n
    2. "While anything can become part of lore, nothing can ever be dropped<\/b>
      \n from it, either" (24)<\/li>\n
    3. "once a particular nomination is made the contributor gives up control<\/b>
      \n over it" (25). Share share alike: "Such tinkering with the contributions made
      \n by other Practitioners seldom seems terribly disturbing" (25).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Key terms: modes of inquiry (1, 15), methodological communities (1),
      \nmethodological land-rush (2), practical knowledge (16), emerging science (21),
      \npractitioners (21), lore (22), practice as inquiry (23, 33), lore and pragmatic
      \nlogic (23), lore’s experiential structure (24), expressive, poetic,
      \ntransactional writing (26), The House of Lore (27), practitioners’ tolerance and
      \nlatitude (28), textbook’s catechetical function (30), rubber triangle (53),
      \nfirst- and second-order inquiry (60), rhetoric (63), praxis (65), narrative
      \n(69), thick description (277), paradigm (318), tacit knowledge (319),
      \nmethodological pluralism (320), topoi<\/i> to organize the field (338),
      \ninter-methodological coherence (370).<\/p>\n

      "Federal interest<\/b> in English per se on this scale [crisis; 1958 NDEA<\/a>;
      \n1967 NCTE NITE] was relatively short-lived, but the momentum<\/b> generated by
      \nthe intense interest of these few years launched modern Composition<\/b>. The
      \nbroadest effects were on English teachers’ self-perception as professionals<\/b>"
      \n(12).<\/p>\n

      "Kitzhaber’s [1963<\/b>] challenge calls, in other words, for the
      \nexertion of authority<\/b> over knowledge about composition: what it is, how
      \nit is made, who gets to say so and why<\/b>" (15).<\/p>\n

      "It takes time<\/b> to identify new modes of inquiry<\/b>, to acquire
      \nexpertise in them, and then to find or create outlets in which to publish<\/b>
      \ntheir results. They have emerged very slowly<\/b>" (21).<\/p>\n

      "These three modes [historian, philosopher, and critic] belong in the same
      \nmethodological cluster primarily because they share the humanist tradition’s
      \nreliance<\/b> on what can be broadly defined as dialectic<\/b>–that is, the
      \nseeking of knowledge via the deliberate confrontation of opposing points of
      \nview<\/b>" (60).<\/p>\n

      "Even more to the point, [rhetoric] is not much help methodologically.
      \nRhetoric can be defined as an art to be mastered; or, as for these Scholars, the
      \nvarious manifestations of that art as practiced can be conceived as an object
      \nor field of study<\/b>. But there is not<\/b>, in this latter sense, any
      \ninherently Rhetorical mode of inquiry<\/b>" (64). <\/p>\n

      "The resulting demographic pattern<\/b> [among philosophers<\/b>] is
      \nrather like that of a marina<\/b>: a small core<\/b> of full-time residents;
      \na larger group<\/b> of long-term types, who may stay as long as two or three
      \nyears, or move in and out with some regularity; and lots of one-time,
      \nseasonal visitors<\/b> who nevertheless–by sheet [?] weight of numbers–leave
      \ntheir mark on the community" (92).<\/p>\n

      "I will admit to a certain bias<\/b> in favor of this kind [hermeneutic-critical<\/b>]
      \nof investigation; of all my work in various modes of inquiry, I was most
      \ninterested in these case studies" (119).<\/p>\n

      "The first three of these [Experimentalists<\/b>, Clinicians<\/b>, and
      \nFormalists<\/b>] constitute a methodological cluster<\/b> quite as neat as the
      \nthree Scholarly modes, sharing as they do the positivist tradition’s
      \nfundamental faith<\/b> in the describable orderliness<\/b> of the universe:
      \nthat is, the belief that things-in-the-world, including in this case people<\/b>,
      \noperate according to determinable or ‘lawful’ patterns<\/b>, general
      \ntendencies<\/b>, which exist apart from our experience of them, and which are, in
      \naddition, accessible<\/b> to the right kinds of inquiry" (137).<\/p>\n

      "After all, it [experimentation<\/b>] has been the dominant mode of
      \nformal educational research <\/b>in this country over the past 75 years or so.
      \nAnd while it has always had its share of vehement critics<\/b>–who delight in
      \npointing out, for example, the origins of many of its techniques in
      \nagricultural research<\/b>, in formulations designed to deal with corn yield per
      \nacre–it is not<\/b> a dominance that will surrender easily<\/b>" (141).<\/p>\n

      "The natural urge is to move toward system<\/b>, toward a vision of
      \nstudents not as discrete individuals, but as in some ways comparable units
      \nacting according to articulable general principles<\/b>. Experimental
      \nknowledge<\/b> responds to this urge very, very well. In it, the
      \ninstitutions and guesses of lore are assumed to have been transformed into a
      \nmore powerful kind of truth<\/b>, one by which the uncertainty, and so the
      \nstress, of what otherwise seems such a chaotic world might be better brought
      \nunder control<\/b>" (153). <\/p>\n

      "In terms of this study, it ["the paradigm-shift explanation<\/b> for the
      \nrevolution in Composition"] might be described as a power play, an attempt by
      \none methodological community<\/b> or cluster of communities to assert its
      \ndominance over the others<\/b>. And this is the sort of movements that has in
      \nfact been most characteristic<\/b> of the emergent field of Composition"
      \n(321).<\/p>\n

      "Versions of the conservative model<\/b> may acknowledge that teaching
      \nwriting is to some extent an art<\/b>, but they are more likely to treat it
      \nmore as a kind of technology<\/b>, an applied science<\/b>, as well, and to
      \nbe far more attracted by the cumulative (and perhaps, by implication,
      \nPractitioner-proof<\/b>) possibilities of that scientific dimension<\/b>"
      \n(331).<\/p>\n

      "Nonetheless, my original question stands: By what sort of logic<\/b> are
      \nthese studies being strung together<\/b>? Witte seems to handle the results of
      \nthese methodologically diverse investigations<\/b> as if they were so many
      \nLego blocks<\/b>: standardized bits and pieces<\/b> of ‘knowledge’ which,
      \nwhatever their origins, sizes, or shapes, can be coupled together to form a
      \nparadigmatic frame within which his own exploratory Experimental study will fit"
      \n(346).<\/p>\n

      "For both sides, it is a ‘field,’ a ‘profession,’ and a ‘discipline,’ terms
      \nthat seem to be treated interchangeably, as if in obedience to an unspoken
      \nrule<\/b>: Characterize Composition as paradigmatic or dialogical, coherent or
      \nchaotic as you like, but it is to everyone’s advantage<\/b> to treat it as
      \na legitimate academic discipline<\/b>" (364).<\/p>\n

      "It might not be too much to claim, in fact, that for all the rhetoric about
      \nunity in pursuit of one or another goal<\/b>, Composition as a
      \nknowledge-making society<\/b> is gradually pulling itself apart<\/b>" (364).<\/p>\n

      "Is there any chance, then, for an academically full-fledged, autonomous,
      \nmulti-methodological, knowledge-making Composition<\/b>? Not, it would seem,
      \nwithout radical change<\/b>. Composition faces a peculiar methodological
      \nparadox<\/b>: its communities cannot get along well enough to live with one
      \nanother, and yet they seem unlikely to survive<\/b>, as any sort of integral
      \nwhole called Composition, without one another" (369).<\/p>\n

      "Instead, I end up predicting that either (a) Composition<\/b> as we know
      \nit will essentially disappear<\/b>, reverting to something much like its
      \npre-1963 form; or that (b) it might survive, but probably only by breaking<\/b>
      \nits institutional ties with literary studies and<\/b>, hence, English
      \ndepartments<\/b>" (373).<\/p>\n

      "So, sad as it may be, I would rather take my chances on a fully vital
      \nComposition<\/b> that fails than to settle for one that is never quite free to
      \ntry<\/b>" (374).<\/p>\n

      \n
      Related sources:<\/dt>\n
      Geertz, Clifford. The Interpretation of Cultures<\/i>. New York: Basic,
      \n 1973.<\/dd>\n
      Kitzhaber, Albert R. "4C, Freshman English, and the Future." CCC<\/i> 14
      \n (1963): 129-38.<\/dd>\n
      Winterowd, W. Ross. Rhetoric: A Synthesis<\/i>. New York: Holt, 1986.\n <\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      \u23f3 Approximate reading time: <\/span> 6<\/span> mins<\/span><\/span>North, Stephen M. The Making of Knowledge in Composition. Upper Montclair, N.J.: Boynton\/Cook, 1987.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[174],"tags":[1640,1146,367,1641,880,178,927,182,645,861,1018,483,1093,862,1642,1606,1643,218,921,445,1235,1236,144,141,210,1008,1644,930,1645,288,1646,130,1445,564,143,1647,493,185,1648,1649,1145,902,1650,291,1070,1322,140],"class_list":["post-7079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-writing_technol","tag-1640","tag-1146","tag-cccc","tag-clinician","tag-community","tag-composition","tag-critic","tag-dialectic","tag-discipline","tag-dissolution","tag-english","tag-ethnography","tag-experiment","tag-field","tag-formalist","tag-hermeneutics","tag-historian","tag-history","tag-inquiry","tag-knowledge","tag-lore","tag-methodology","tag-methods","tag-models","tag-narrative","tag-paradigm","tag-philosopher","tag-pluralism","tag-positivism","tag-practice","tag-practitioner","tag-process","tag-product","tag-profession","tag-research","tag-researcher","tag-revolution","tag-rhetoric","tag-ritual","tag-scholar","tag-status","tag-stories","tag-talk","tag-teaching","tag-textbooks","tag-visibility","tag-writing"],"yoast_head":"\nNorth, The Making of Knowledge in Composition - Earth Wide Moth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/2006\/11\/16\/north-the-makin\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"North, The Making of Knowledge in Composition - Earth Wide Moth\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u23f3 Approximate reading time: 6 minsNorth, Stephen M. 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The Making of Knowledge in Composition. 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Carlton levels a complicated argument about whether or not composition ought to be framed as a discipline. She begins with North's concerns about a preponderance of lore and multiple, contending methods from The Making of Knowledge in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Writing Technologies"","block_context":{"text":"Writing Technologies","link":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/category\/writing_technol\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7083,"url":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/2006\/11\/22\/fulkerson-compo\/","url_meta":{"origin":7079,"position":1},"title":"Fulkerson, “Composition at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century”","author":"Derek Mueller","date":"November 22, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Fulkerson, Richard. \"Summary and Critique: Composition at the Turn of the Twenty-first Century.\" CCC 56.4 (2005): 654-687. 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