Spring Break
The student as Student
Jennifer Rich
Issue date: 5/1/09 Section: Spring 2009
the student as Student
jennifer rich
I would like to begin this analysis considering the way in which the student is imagined in both rhetoric and composition literature of both the early and late twentieth-century. I'm interested, in particular, in understanding the assumptions and expectations of the 'student' that underwrite discussions of student preparedness in academic discourse.
This discussion has centered primarily on how to interpolate the student into the discursive practices of the university, but the understanding of what it is to be a Student -the assumptions that underlie this figuration-is less apparent. I hope that this preliminary discussion will lead us to understand the privileging of professionalization in our students--particularly why situated student writing is increasingly prized in composition and rhetoric programs and in the university in general. Also, I hope that the consideration of the 'Student' will lead us to question some of our practices in the classroom and to understand how certain practices may frustrate the construction of the student as 'Student.'
ideological backdrops
In much of the existing literature, the 'student' is defined very narrowly between two almost opposing conceptions: that of the barbarian, and that of the victim. An excerpt from a brief article in College English entitled "Sex Voci Student" (1970) showcases this divide quite vividly. Here, a rather bitter student objects to what he experiences as the inevitable
depersonalization of the writing process in the college classroom, stating:
"Writing is a personal experience, and the teacher of writing needs to be more personal. He shouldn't come into the class in his briefcase. Students know when a briefcase comes walking in" (293).
This student's ungrammatical but clever use of synecdoche to conjure the 'teacher'
launches a strong objection to the depersonalization of writing that he sees as subsisting within the figure of the professor/briefcase. The briefcase is both teacher and product that the student is expected to produce: depersonalized (objective) academic writing. To
jennifer rich
I would like to begin this analysis considering the way in which the student is imagined in both rhetoric and composition literature of both the early and late twentieth-century. I'm interested, in particular, in understanding the assumptions and expectations of the 'student' that underwrite discussions of student preparedness in academic discourse.
This discussion has centered primarily on how to interpolate the student into the discursive practices of the university, but the understanding of what it is to be a Student -the assumptions that underlie this figuration-is less apparent. I hope that this preliminary discussion will lead us to understand the privileging of professionalization in our students--particularly why situated student writing is increasingly prized in composition and rhetoric programs and in the university in general. Also, I hope that the consideration of the 'Student' will lead us to question some of our practices in the classroom and to understand how certain practices may frustrate the construction of the student as 'Student.'
ideological backdrops
In much of the existing literature, the 'student' is defined very narrowly between two almost opposing conceptions: that of the barbarian, and that of the victim. An excerpt from a brief article in College English entitled "Sex Voci Student" (1970) showcases this divide quite vividly. Here, a rather bitter student objects to what he experiences as the inevitable
depersonalization of the writing process in the college classroom, stating:
"Writing is a personal experience, and the teacher of writing needs to be more personal. He shouldn't come into the class in his briefcase. Students know when a briefcase comes walking in" (293).
This student's ungrammatical but clever use of synecdoche to conjure the 'teacher'
launches a strong objection to the depersonalization of writing that he sees as subsisting within the figure of the professor/briefcase. The briefcase is both teacher and product that the student is expected to produce: depersonalized (objective) academic writing. To
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
writing services
posted 3/11/10 @ 12:25 PM EST
Hey, nobody thought of student in that way, I wish to hear the end of a story
Russian Singles
posted 3/18/10 @ 10:24 AM EST
Indeed an informative article.
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