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Seconding Johnathon Mauk’s call in these pages for greater attention to the politics of space, and extending it to the increasingly ubiquitous realities of virtual space, the author argues that course-management software systems such as Blackboard naturalize certain constructions of subjectivity for us and our students in ways inimical to our pedagogical goals. He argues that we and our students should not only be critically attentive to such constructions but should also wherever possible develop our own local, discipline-specific spaces in resistance to the homogenization of space and subjectivity they represent.

Describes two ways that teaching and responding to student writing are being pressured by rapidly developing technologies now being introduced into educational institutions. Discusses (1) the increasing replacement of face-to-face contact by “virtual” interaction via multimedia technology, e-mail communication systems, and the recently expanded capabilities of the World Wide Web; and (2) distance education.

SOMiE OF THE PRINCIPLES of Eric Bemrne's theory of Transactional Analysis proven extremely useful to me in teaching English 101. The approach, which I call going backward to move forward, concentrates on three phases: writing for oneself, writing for the live audience of one's colleagues in class, and ultimately, writing for the real world through publication. The course begins with my asking students to close their eyes and to recall all the things former English teachers asked them to remember or to do when writing. Then they are asked to jot down as many of these directives as they can. Next each person is asked to write several of these on the blackboard, which was recently filled with the following: big words, think before you write, each paragraph with your main idea, follow outline forms, dot your 'i's,' don't use overworked metaphors, don't use 'when' or 'how' to start a sentence, never start a sentence with 'and,' never use 'in conclusion,' never end a sentence with a preposition, never use a double negative, never use 'never,' have an interest grabbing first sentence, never start a sentence with because, don't use the verb 'to be,' be more specific,

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