The authors of this essay discuss the impact of corpus collection and analysis on the writing program at The City College of New York, CUNY, the digital literacies encouraged by the corpus collection process, and how corpus studies can be used to support genre awareness and build communities of practice in basic writing classrooms and among…

Rancorous dialogue among political opponents is nothing new in the American political system. However, in the past two decades or so, pundits and scholars have noted an increase in the overall intensity and frequency of incivility among elected officials and citizens. At the collegiate level, many universities have undertaken some form of civility…

Public rhetoric pedagogy can benefit from an ecological perspective that sees change as advocated not through a single document but through multiple mundane and monumental texts. This article summarizes various approaches to rhetorical ecology, offers an ecological read of the Montgomery bus boycotts, and concludes with pedagogical insights on a…

Is it feasible to hold concurrent, small-group, peer-managed discussions in large elementary school classes? We sought an initial answer to this question in a fifth-grade class in Hefei, China. The 52 students in the class were divided into seven small groups. The seven groups held four simultaneous discussions without immediate supervision or…

High school teacher James C. Mayer explains how a student-run symposium can promote "risk-taking and participation" and help students practice effective persuasion skills before demonstrating them in writing. The symposium places students in roles that encourage responsibility and ownership for discussion and learning, shifting the classroom…

This study examines the deployment of automated red light camera systems in the state of Texas from 2003 through late 2007. The deployment of new technologies in general, and surveillance infrastructures in particular, can prove controversial and challenging for the formation of public policy. Red light camera surveillance during this period in…

Analyzes the events of July 23, 1993, when Carol Moseley-Braun was involved in two rhetorical events in the United States Senate dealing with racial issues and the rhetorical culture of the Senate. Concludes that the reactions are as telling as the actions, revealing a United States Senate fundamentally unprepared for such a subject and such a…

Professional and disciplinary rhetoric often breaks down when texts cross professional boundaries. An ethnographic study conducted in an Indiana courtroom during a civil trial demonstrates the failure of disciplinary rhetoric. Despite the fact that the plaintiffs in a personal injury case had demonstrated the negligence of the defendant according…

This paper discusses the rhetoric of American educators to show that rhetorical analyses can be used to highlight assumed concepts and values within educators' discourses, policies, and practices, and to suggest that greater awareness of their rhetoric can help educators make their communications congruent with their purposes. The paper describes…

Today there is a growing belief that everyone who wants access to college can have it. College enrollments have continued to grow for over half a century and now it can be argued that most American families dream of a college education for their children. A 2003 report by the Education Commission of the States (ECS) demonstrates there is a growing…

Discusses President Reagan's televised address following the space shuttle tragedy and the unique rhetorical demands of the situation. Examines how generic constraints that establish commonalities among all eulogies are interwoven with the responses to the specific needs of a nation in crisis. (NKA)