Race, Composition, and "Our English": Performing the Mother Tongue in a Daily Theme Assignment at Harvard, 1886-87

Rhetoric Review Oct 2004

Race, Composition, and "Our English": Performing the Mother Tongue in a Daily Theme Assignment at Harvard, 1886-87

Amy A. Zenger

Abstract

In the nineteenth century, the philological concept of the mother tongue assumed that language was strongly linked with race. The adoption of English as the medium of instruction in the US and the vigorous promotion of English as a subject in the university curriculum were predicated on the importance of protecting English as a mother tongue and the racialized values it was thought to embody. In 1886-78 daily theme writers in Barrett Wendell's English 12 composition course at Harvard reiterated and also questioned received statements about language use and race.

Journal: Rhetoric Review
Published: 2004-10-01
DOI: 10.1207/s15327981rr2304_3
Open Access: Closed
Topics: race and writing

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (2)

Trasciatti (2009)

Letter Writing in an Italian Immigrant Community: A Transatlantic Tradition

Rhetoric Society Quarterly
Dayton-Wood (2008)

Teaching English for “A Better America”

Rhetoric Review

Cites in this index (0)

No references match articles in this index.

Also cites 4 works outside this index ↓

Connors, Robert J. Composition-Rhetoric: Backgrounds, Theory, and Pedagogy. Pittsburgh: U of Pittsburgh P, 1997.

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Crowley, Sharon. Composition in the University: Historical and Polemical Essays. Pittsburgh: U of Pittsburgh …

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Horner Bruce (2002)

10.2307/1512118

College Composition and Communication ↗
Slevin, James. Introducing English: Essays in the Intellectual Work of Composition. Pittsburgh: U of Pittsbur…

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