Rhetoric and Composition
Florida State University
405 Williams Building
Tallahassee, Florida
32306-1580
Phone: 850 644 4230
Fax: 850 644 0811
We offer two graduate programs in rhetoric and composition: an M.A. program in Rhetoric and Composition and a Ph.D. in English with a specialization in Rhetoric and Composition. In each we focus on social practices and theories of composing and composition, particularly emphasizing the relationships between texts (print, audio, visual, and digital) and technologies. In addition to offering a repertoire of challenging courses, the program features a hospitable environment for graduate students.
As members of the graduate program, we--students and faculty-often work on research together. For example, TAs and faculty have presented together at conferences (for example, National Council of Teachers of English); several of us submitted "combined" panels for CCCC in New Orleans. In addition, a team of graduate students and faculty wrote and were awarded a 2006-2007 CCCC research grant. We gather regularly to "read and eat" at a faculty member's home, where we discuss current articles and plan collaborative projects. And all doctoral students enroll in a one-hour reading course, where MA students are welcome as well.
An important component of our program is the Rhetoric and Composition Visiting Speakers Series. Over the last 18 months, we've enjoyed visits from:
Cheryl Glenn, Professor of English at Penn State and Program Chair for CCCC 2007, who spoke to us about feminist rhetoric.
Richard Fulkerson, Professor of English at North Texas State University, whose work on taxonomies of composition has spanned over 25 years and who spoke to us on the state of composition today.
Todd Taylor, Professor of English at the University of North Carolina, who spoke to us and conducted workshops on multi-media in the composition classroom.
Kathryn Hayles, Professor of English at UCLA, who spoke to us on electronic textuality, especially the logic of electronic literature and its aethetics.
Anne Wysocki, Associate Professor of Rhetoric at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, who spoke to us on "The Tastes of Production."
David Blakesley, Associate Professor of English at Purdue University, who spoke to us on "Teaching and Composing Visually."
David Holmes, Pepperdine University, whose presentation was entitled "Recasting the Kingdom, Reclaiming the Word: Race, Religion and the Democratic Paradoxes of African American Rhetorical Sovereignty."
Our next speaker is:
Rhetorical genre theory has redefined genres as social actions, as ways people use language to act in and on their worlds. As worlds change, the genres that inhabit and construct those worlds also change. Reviewing historical studies of genre change reveals that genres teeter between stability and flexibility, emerging and changing as contexts emerge and change. Individuals can be seen to play a distinct role in genre change, acting both to encourage and to inhibit change.
Other Speakers Scheduled:
