College Composition and Communication Feb 2018

With “Increased Dignity and Importance”: Re-Historicizing Charles Roberts and the Illinois Decision of 1955

Kelly Ritter

Abstract

I revisit the so-called Illinois Decision of 1955, which eliminated basic writing from the University of Illinois Rhetoric Program and caused a chain of similar programmatic actions on other campuses nationwide. I contend that reviewing and archiving the Illinois Decision as a locally specific act with multiple actors besides WPA Charles Roberts historicizes a familiar narrative present today—namely, how WPAs address anxieties about writing in high school versus college, and how composition students and programs are beholden to ongoing institutional and extra-institutional imperatives regarding literacy and efficiency.

Journal
College Composition and Communication
Published
2018-02-01
DOI
10.58680/ccc201829490
Open Access
Closed
Topics
basic writing writing program administration writing across the curriculum

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (1)

  1. Longaker et al. (2022)
    Archiving Our Own: The Digital Archive of Rhetoric and Composition at the Unive…
    College Composition and Communication

Cites in this index (6)

  1. Agnew et al. (2011)
    Rhetorical Historiography and the Octalogs
    Rhetoric Review
  2. Roberts (1957)
    The Unprepared Student at the University of Illinois
    College Composition and Communication
  3. Sparling (1957)
    Improving the Status of the Composition Teacher
    College Composition and Communication
  4. Roberts (1955)
    A Course for Training Rhetoric Teachers at the University of Illinois
    College Composition and Communication
  5. Allen (1952)
    Preparing the Teacher of Composition and Communication. A Report
    College Composition and Communication
Show all 6 →
  1. Potthoff (1945)
    The Program for Improving Students' Use of English at the University of Illinois
    College English
Also cites 3 works outside this index ↓
  1. Adler-Kassner (2008)
    The Activist WPA: Changing Stories about Writing and Writers
     ↗
  2. Lerner (2001)
    “Searching for Robert Moore.”
    Writing Center Journal  ↗
  3. Wilson (1956)
    “Illinois vs. Illiteracy.”
    College Composition and Communication  ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 2 View in citation network →

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