College English Oct 1992

Is Expressivism Dead? Reconsidering Its Romantic Roots and Its Relation to Social Constructionism

Stephen M. Fishman ; Lucille Parkinson McCarthy

Abstract

under attack, and social constructionism-the view that good writers must master the accepted practices of a discourse community-was widely adopted as an alternative. The purpose of this article is to defend expressivism against this attack, particularly against two charges. First, responding to the charge that expressivism, following the romantics, is tied to the ideal of the isolated writer, Steve Fishman argues on historical grounds that it was the social reform dimension of German romanticism that inspired expressivism. Second, Lucille McCarthy responds to the charge that expressivism disempowers students because it does not help them learn disciplinary and professional languages. She presents Fishman's class as one which is committed both to the mastery of philosophic method and to the development of student voices, committed, that is, to achieving social constructionist goals within an expressivist environment. Part I presents a theoretical perspective on expressivism; Part II shows the practical implementation of that theory in the classroom.

Journal
College English
Published
1992-10-01
DOI
10.2307/377772
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
composition theory discourse analysis
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (2)

  1. O'Brien (2000)
    Romanticism and rhetoric: A question of audience
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  2. McClish (1994)
    Humanist and empiricist rhetorics: Some reflections on rhetorical sensitivity, …
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly

References (0)

No references on file for this article.

CrossRef global citation count: 8 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Philosophy & Rhetoric Sep 2024
    Where’s the Rhetoric? Imagining a Unified Field ↗
    Joshua Hanan
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism composition theory genre theory discourse analysis cultural rhetorics argument qualitative research quantitative research digital rhetoric social media grammar and mechanics gender and writing disability studies public rhetoric affect and writing body and rhetoric editorial matter
  2. Composition Forum 2021
    Correlating What We Know: A Mixed Methods Study of Reflection and Writing in First-Year Writing Assessment ↗
    Jeff Pruchnic, Ellen Barton, Sarah Primeau, Thomas Trimble, Nicole Varty, and Tanina Foster
    composition theory genre theory discourse analysis first-year composition writing pedagogy voice and style assessment empirical research qualitative research
  3. Composition Forum 2019
    From Chaos to Cosmos, and Back: Place-Based Autoethnography in First-Year Composition ↗
    Ryan David Leack
    rhetorical criticism composition theory discourse analysis first-year composition writing pedagogy argument
  4. Praxis: A Writing Center Journal 2019
    Rhetorical Authority in Student Language: A Study of Student Reflective Responses in the Writing Center at an HBCU ↗
    rhetorical criticism composition theory genre theory discourse analysis african american rhetorics writing pedagogy writing centers empirical research
  5. Journal of Writing Analytics Jan 2018
    De-Identification of Laboratory Reports in STEM ↗
    Alex Rudniy
    modern rhetorical theory composition theory discourse analysis graduate education teacher development assessment scientific writing artificial intelligence book reviews