Written Communication Jul 1992

The Case for Oral Evidence in Composition Historiography

GERALD NELMS

Abstract

The almost exclusive reliance on evidence developed from documentary analyses, specifically analyses of textbooks, in composition historiography has resulted in an agonistic, heroes-and-villains image of the history of writing instruction, whereby modern composition scholars have defined themselves in terms of their opposition to what has come to be called “current-traditional rhetoric.” This article promotes the use of oral evidence in composition historiography to guard against overgeneralization and simplistic reduction of composition history to binary oppositions. Oral interviews also can serve as a way of collecting information that would otherwise be lost, of exploring the thoughts, motivations, feelings, and values of informants, and of giving voice to those marginalized politically, socially, and professionally. This article also defends oral data against positivistic attacks on its reliability as evidence and argues that the evidentiary value of any piece of historical data depends not on some abstract ranking of different kinds of evidence but on the historian's understanding of the rhetorical context informing the production of that data.

Journal
Written Communication
Published
1992-07-01
DOI
10.1177/0741088392009003002
Open Access
Closed
Topics
writing pedagogy composition theory multimodality voice and style

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (4)

  1. Duffy (2007)
    Recalling the Letter: The Uses of Oral Testimony in Historical Studies of Literacy
    Written Communication
  2. Strain (2000)
    Local histories, rhetorical negotiations: The development of doctoral programs …
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  3. Nelms (1994)
    Reassessing Janet Emig's<i>the composing processes of twelfth graders:</i>An hi…
    Rhetoric Review
  4. Nelms et al. (1994)
    The revival of classical rhetoric for modern composition studies: A survey
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly

Cites in this index (7)

  1. Connors (1990)
    Overwork/underpay: Labor and status of composition teachers since 1880
    Rhetoric Review
  2. Connors et al. (1986)
    Writing Instruction in Nineteenth-Century American Colleges
    College Composition and Communication
  3. WOODS (1985)
    The Reform Tradition in Nineteenth-Century Composition Teaching
    Written Communication
  4. Crowley (1985)
    The evolution of invention in current‐traditional rhetoric: 1850–1970
    Rhetoric Review
  5. Stewart (1985)
    Some history lessons for composition teachers
    Rhetoric Review
Show all 7 →
  1. Witte (1983)
    Topical Structure and Revision: An Exploratory Study
    College Composition and Communication
  2. Mills (1953)
    Writing as Process
    College English
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CrossRef global citation count: 6 View in citation network →

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