Rhetoric Review Sep 2007

Fear of Narrative: Revisiting the Bartholomae-Elbow Debate through the Figure of the Writing Teacher in Contemporary American Fiction

J. Brian Schwartz

Abstract

It is my contention that David Bartholomae and Peter Elbow's well-known discussion in the late 1980s and early 1990s—sometimes referred to as their “debate”—is still a text of central importance in the field of composition studies, one that speaks to timeless questions of narrative and pedagogy in the writing classroom. Indeed, rich representations of writing teachers in contemporary fiction remind us that Bartholomae and Elbow were articulating a crucial theoretical divide, not just in comp theory but in American higher education.

Journal
Rhetoric Review
Published
2007-09-13
DOI
10.1080/07350190701577934
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Open Access
Closed
Topics
writing pedagogy teacher development argument
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References (13)

  1. Bartholomae David (1997)
    Cross-Talk in Comp Theory: A Reader
  2. Bass Rick (1988)
    Best American Short Stories 1988
  3. Bass Rick (1991)
    Best American Short Stories 1991
  4. Bass Rick (1994)
    Platte River
  5. Baxter Charles (1989)
    Best American Short Stories 1989
Show all 13 →
  1. Baxter Charles (1986)
    Best American Short Stories 1986
  2. Baxter Charles (2003)
    Saul and Patsy
  3. Corder Jim W (2004)
    The Selected Essays of Jim W. Corder
  4. Elbow Peter (1997)
    Cross-Talk in Comp Theory: A Reader
  5. Mayher John (1983)
    Learning to Write, Writing to Learn
  6. Rosenblatt Louise (1985)
    Literature as Exploration
  7. Scholes Robert (1989)
    Protocols of Reading
  8. Villanueva Victor (2003)
    Cross Talk in Comp Theory
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