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February 07, 2005
project proposal, take 2
i propose as my broad topic the history of collaborative writing as a part of the 1st-year-sequence (which here is 2 years but at most places isn't) of composition curricula.
questions that inspire this project are as follows: when and why did collaboration become a standard part of the curriculum at SU? does that development correlate with a field-wide interest in collaborative writing? does the field have a wide interest in collaborative writing, or are there just pockets of interest in the topic? what are the major justifications for assigning collaborative writing projects, and what are the major arguments against the practice?
more specifically, i propose to dig in the SU archives (as per this discussion's hints) to see what evidence of the assignment and completion of collaborative writing products appears, in addition to scouring both the suggested bibliographies in becky's amazing hard drive and the wonderful hint-list that is comp-pile for contextualization.
my method will thus be primarily archival in nature, using both primary (examples of student work, syllabi, course/program goals?) and secondary (scholarly publications) sources.
my methodological assumptions will be that what appears repeatedly in field scholarship is indicative of major concerns among field-members, and that although i might not find a single answer to "why" questions about the popularity & value of collaborative writing, i will get a better picture by hearing from different speakers than i have right now, when i'm working primarily from my own experience.
my scope might narrow to a specific time period as i begin to work with sources, but i don't want to specify before i learn more about what's out there to work with.
my tentative bibliography includes:
Bruffee, Kenneth A. "Collaborative Learning and the 'Conversation of Mankind.'" College English 46.7 (November 1984): 635-52.
Day, Kami, and Michele Eodice. (First Person)2: A Study of Co-Authoring in the Academy. Logan: Utah State UP, 2001.
Gere, Anne Ruggles. Writing Groups: History, Theory, and Implications. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 1987.
LeFevre, Karen Burke. Invention as a Social Act. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 1987.
Leonard, James S., Laura Brady, and Robert Murray. "Collaborative Writing: A Browser's Bibliography." Author-ity and Textuality: Current Views of Collaborative Writing. Ed. James S. Leonard, Christine E. Wharton, Robert Murray Davis, and Jeanette Harris. West Cornwall, CT: Locust Hill P, 1994. 229-250.
*& other articles in this collection*
Lunsford, Andrea A., and Lisa Ede. Singular Texts/Plural Authors: Perspectives on Collaborative Writing. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 1990.
Posted by ttobryan at February 7, 2005 04:55 PM
Comments
"collaborative writing as a part of the 1st-year-sequence" = interesting focus. A lot of the scholarship on collaboration assumes advanced comp courses; a lot of the pedagogy is developed in tech/professional writing courses. Day & Eodice isn't going to be of direct help, I think, but instead is likely to serve as a fascinating background text. Any of Spigelman's works is probably going to be more to your purposes.
Posted by: senioritis at February 12, 2005 03:14 PM