This publication contains journal essays and book chapters (from publications of the National Council of Teachers of English) concerning trends and issues in postsecondary English studies. The publication's first section, "Race/Class/Gender Positions," contains the following articles: (1) "On the Rhetoric and Precedents of Racism" (Victor Villanueva); (2) "Feminism in Composition: Inclusion, Metonymy, and Disruption" (Joy Ritchie and Kathleen Boardman); (3) "Class Ethos and the Politics of Inquiry: What the Barroom Can Teach Us about the Classroom" (Julie Lindquist); and (4) "History in the Spaces Left: African American Presence and Narratives of Composition Studies" (Jacqueline Jones Royster and Jean C. Williams). Articles in the second section, "Assessment," are: (5) "Looking Back as We Look Forward: Historicizing Writing Assessment" (Kathleen Blake Yancey); (6) "Views from the Underside: Proficiency Portfolios in First-Year Composition" (Alexis Nelson); (7) "Whose Portfolio Is It Anyway? Dilemmas of Professional Portfolio Building" (Sue Ruskin-Mayher); and (8) "Inside the Portfolio Experience: The Student's Perspective" (C. Beth Burch). Articles in the third section, "Technology," are: (9) "Distant Voices: Teaching and Writing in a Culture of Technology" (Chris M. Anson); (10) "Technology and Literacy: A Story about the Perils of Not Paying Attention" (Cynthia L. Selfe); (11) "The Shared Discourse of the Networked Computer Classroom" (L. Lennie Irvin); and (12) "The Craft of Teaching and the World Wide Web: A Reference Essay for Educators" (Kevin M. Leander). (SR)