[Teaching_Composition] Welcome Back!

[Chris Anson]

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Dear TeachingComp Listers;

Welcome back to another year of TeachingComp! It seems like just a =20
few days ago that I was writing to our list to sign us off for the =20
summer. Interestingly, there was virtually no traffic at all on the =20
list during the summer months, but given the almost exponential =20
increase in our use of the Internet, our volume of email, the number =20
of blog posts we write and read, and so on, perhaps it's to be expected.

We're gearing up for another great year of TeachingComp, with an =20
almost full slate of modules that will take us from now until next =20
May. I know that a number of people have signed on to the list =20
recently, partly because of graduate course requirements, so let me =20
take a moment to explain how TeachingComp works. If you know all =20
this, skip the next paragraph, but do keep reading.

Each month, a new module is placed at the TeachingComp Web site =20
(http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/english/tc/). Written by scholars and =20=

teachers of composition, the modules provide information on specific =20
topics, including background material, opinions, program =20
descriptions, research, controversies, case studies, and =20
bibliographies or other resources. The material is designed not only =20
to help us learn about these specific topics, but explore them more =20
fully through dialogue. That=92s where this listserv comes in. =20
Currently subscribing about 700 people, the list is the electronic =20
and rhetorical space where the module topics are examined and =20
discussed. We=92re not, of course, limited to the subject of the =20
module, and various threads sometimes develop alongside the module=92s =20=

focus. The list tends to be friendly, open, and productive.

Be sure to bookmark the Web site: http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/=20
english/tc/

We begin this year's TeachingComp with a module by William Thelin on =20
the "Academic Bill of Rights," a movement spearheaded by David =20
Horowitz and designed to counter what is assumed to be a prevalent =20
ideological bias in higher education toward leftist principles and =20
politics and attempts by faculty to indoctrinate students into this =20
ideology by using their power in unfair ways.  The charge itself =20
comes from a highly biased position without sufficient evidence for =20
its own claims; but given the highly oppositional and partisan =20
climate of the U.S. right now, there is considerable tension among =20
educators about their long-cherished academic and free-speech =20
safeguards. Almost weekly, we read another case in which a college or =20=

university teacher is accused of some egregious bias, only to be =20
exonerated later but not without a dose of public scrutiny and a lot =20
of anguish. Last week we learned about a Pomona College professor, a =20
native Venezuelan and expert on Latin American history, who was =20
interrogated by members of the FBI in a surprise visit to his office. =20=

The questions focused on what Professor Tinker-Salas was teaching in =20
his course, and his own students were also questioned independently =20
and without permission about what they thought of his teaching. After =20=

much outrage in the community=97and a very strong statement by Pomona's =20=

president--eventually the FBI issued a lukewarm apology; they had =20
singled out Tinker-Salas because he has been critical of U.S. foreign =20=

policy during a time when there is a rift between the State =20
Department and the government of Venezuela. If this and many other =20
cases are symptomatic, then any one of us on this list who teaches =20
college classes could be singled out for a reading assignment, a =20
comment make in class or on a paper, or something we write in a =20
published article. Accusations can also come from our own students, =20
who are now encouraged by many conservative critics to secretly =20
record or video class sessions or send "evidence" of political bias =20
to their legislators. Although the Academic Bill of Rights is not =20
about FBI agents interrogating harmless college professors, it serves =20=

as a kind of meta-statement about the entire issue of what teachers =20
can and can't, should or shouldn't do and say in their teaching=97and =20=

therefore serves as an attempted mechanism of control.

Our first module, then, gets us started on a particularly engaging =20
and volatile topic, one that, in the greatest traditions of free =20
speech and academic freedom, I encourage everyone to speak their =20
minds about, loudly, openly, and without fear. This is our list, our =20
forum, and we get to say what we want on it, regardless of our =20
political ideologies and systems of belief. Please visit the Web =20
site, read Bill's engaging module on the Academic Bill of Rights, and =20=

return to this list to start talking.

William H. Thelin directs the writing program at the University of =20
Akron and is an associate professor in the graduate program.  Bill =20
started his career at the University of Cincinnati, where he taught =20
basic writing and composition to open admissions students.  He later =20
ran the peer tutoring writing lab and the developmental writing =20
center before moving to the University of Akron.  He co-edits the =20
newly created journal, Open Words, which focuses on the theories, =20
research, and practice of teaching open-admissions and other non-=20
mainstream student populations.  His scholarly work has appeared in =20
College Composition and Communication, the Journal of Teaching =20
Academic Survival Skills, Composition Studies, and Composition Forum, =20=

as well as in several books.  He co-edited the collection, Blundering =20=

for a Change: Errors and Expectations in Critical Pedagogy, and has =20
authored a textbook, Writing Without Formulas, that will be published =20=

in 2007.  He is on the steering committee for Rhetoricians for Peace =20
and is the co-chair of the Working-Class Culture and Pedagogy special =20=

interest group for the Conference on College Composition and =20
Communication.

Again, welcome back.  Now let's enact our freedom to speak, before =20
it's too late.

Chris Anson
Moderator





--=20
Chris M. Anson [Web site]
Professor of English
Director, Campus Writing and Speaking Program
Box 8105, North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC  27695-8105
(919) 513-4080



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<HTML><BODY style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; =
-khtml-line-break: after-white-space; "><DIV class=3D"MsoNormal">Dear =
TeachingComp Listers;</DIV><DIV class=3D"MsoNormal">=A0<O:P></O:P></DIV><D=
IV class=3D"MsoNormal">Welcome back to another year of TeachingComp! It =
seems like just a few days ago that I was writing to our list to sign us =
off for the summer. Interestingly, there was virtually no traffic at all =
on the list during the summer months, but given the almost exponential =
increase in our use of the Internet, our volume of email, the number of =
blog posts we write and read, and so on, perhaps it's to be expected. =
</DIV><DIV class=3D"MsoNormal">=A0<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV =
class=3D"MsoNormal">We're gearing up for another great year of =
TeachingComp, with an almost full slate of modules that will take us =
from now until next May. I know that a number of people have signed on =
to the list recently, partly because of graduate course requirements, so =
let me take a moment to explain how TeachingComp works. If you know all =
this, skip the next paragraph, but do keep reading.</DIV><DIV =
class=3D"MsoNormal">=A0<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV class=3D"MsoNormal">Each =
month, a new module is placed at the TeachingComp Web site (<A =
href=3D"http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/english/tc/">http://www.mhhe.com/so=
cscience/english/tc/</A>). Written by scholars and teachers of =
composition, the modules provide information on specific topics, =
including background material, opinions, program descriptions, research, =
controversies, case studies, and bibliographies or other resources. The =
material is designed not only to help us learn about these specific =
topics, but explore them more fully through dialogue. That=92s where =
this listserv comes in. Currently subscribing about 700 people, the list =
is the electronic and rhetorical space where the module topics are =
examined and discussed. We=92re not, of course, limited to the subject =
of the module, and various threads sometimes develop alongside the =
module=92s focus. The list tends to be friendly, open, and =
productive.</DIV><DIV class=3D"MsoNormal">=A0<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV =
class=3D"MsoNormal">Be sure to bookmark the Web site: <A =
href=3D"http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/english/tc/">http://www.mhhe.com/so=
cscience/english/tc/</A></DIV><DIV =
class=3D"MsoNormal">=A0<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV class=3D"MsoNormal">We =
begin this year's TeachingComp with a module by William Thelin on the =
"Academic Bill of Rights," a movement spearheaded by David Horowitz and =
designed to counter what is assumed to be a prevalent ideological bias =
in higher education toward leftist principles and politics and attempts =
by faculty to indoctrinate students into this ideology by using their =
power in unfair ways.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">=A0 </SPAN>The =
charge itself comes from a highly biased position without sufficient =
evidence for its own claims; but given the highly oppositional and =
partisan climate of the U.S. right now, there is considerable tension =
among educators about their long-cherished academic and free-speech =
safeguards. Almost weekly, we read another case in which a college or =
university teacher is accused of some egregious bias, only to be =
exonerated later but not without a dose of public scrutiny and a lot of =
anguish. Last week we learned about a Pomona College professor, a native =
Venezuelan and expert on Latin American history, who was interrogated by =
members of the FBI in a surprise visit to his office. The questions =
focused on what Professor Tinker-Salas was teaching in his course, and =
his own students were also questioned independently and without =
permission about what they thought of his teaching. After much outrage =
in the community=97and a very strong statement by Pomona's =
president--eventually the FBI issued a lukewarm apology; they had =
singled out Tinker-Salas because he has been critical of U.S. foreign =
policy during a time when there is a rift between the State Department =
and the government of Venezuela. If this and many other cases are =
symptomatic, then any one of us on this list who teaches college classes =
could be singled out for a reading assignment, a comment make in class =
or on a paper, or something we write in a published article. Accusations =
can also come from our own students, who are now encouraged by many =
conservative critics to secretly record or video class sessions or send =
"evidence" of political bias to their legislators. Although the Academic =
Bill of Rights is not about FBI agents interrogating harmless college =
professors, it serves as a kind of meta-statement about the entire issue =
of what teachers can and can't, should or shouldn't do and say in their =
teaching=97and therefore serves as an attempted mechanism of =
control.</DIV><DIV class=3D"MsoNormal">=A0<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV =
class=3D"MsoNormal">Our first module, then, gets us started on a =
particularly engaging and volatile topic, one that, in the greatest =
traditions of free speech and academic freedom, I encourage everyone to =
speak their minds about, loudly, openly, and without fear. This is =
<I>our</I><SPAN style=3D""> list, </SPAN><I>our</I><SPAN style=3D""> =
forum, and we get to say what we want on it, regardless of our political =
ideologies and systems of belief. Please visit the Web site, read Bill's =
engaging module on the Academic Bill of Rights, and return to this list =
to start talking.<O:P></O:P></SPAN></DIV><DIV =
class=3D"MsoNormal">=A0<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV class=3D"MsoNormal">William =
H. Thelin directs the writing program at the University of Akron and is =
an associate professor in the graduate program.=A0 Bill started his =
career at the University of Cincinnati, where he taught basic writing =
and composition to open admissions students.=A0 He later ran the peer =
tutoring writing lab and the developmental writing center before moving =
to the University of Akron.=A0 He co-edits the newly created journal, =
<I>Open Words</I><SPAN style=3D"">, which focuses on the theories, =
research, and practice of teaching open-admissions and other =
non-mainstream student populations.=A0 His scholarly work has appeared =
in </SPAN><I>College Composition and Communication</I><SPAN style=3D"">, =
</SPAN><I>the Journal of Teaching Academic Survival Skills, Composition =
Studies, and Composition Forum,</I><SPAN style=3D""> as well as in =
several books.=A0 He co-edited the collection, </SPAN><I>Blundering for =
a Change: Errors and Expectations in Critical Pedagogy</I><SPAN =
style=3D"">, and has authored a textbook, </SPAN><I>Writing Without =
Formulas</I><SPAN style=3D"">, that will be published in 2007.=A0 He is =
on the steering committee for Rhetoricians for Peace and is the co-chair =
of the Working-Class Culture and Pedagogy special interest group for the =
Conference on College Composition and =
Communication.<O:P></O:P></SPAN></DIV><DIV =
class=3D"MsoNormal">=A0<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV class=3D"MsoNormal">Again, =
welcome back.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">=A0 </SPAN>Now let's =
enact our freedom to speak, before it's too late.<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV =
class=3D"MsoNormal">=A0<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV class=3D"MsoNormal">Chris =
Anson<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV class=3D"MsoNormal">Moderator</DIV><BR><DIV> =
<SPAN class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"border-collapse: separate; =
border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; =
font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: =
normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; =
-apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; =
white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"border-collapse: separate; =
border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; =
font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: =
normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; =
-apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; =
white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"border-collapse: separate; =
border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; =
font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: =
normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; =
-apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; =
white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"border-collapse: separate; =
border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; =
font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: =
normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; =
-apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; =
white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"border-collapse: separate; =
border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; =
font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: =
normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; =
-apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; =
white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"border-collapse: separate; =
border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; =
font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: =
normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; =
-apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; =
white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"border-collapse: separate; =
border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; =
font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: =
normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; =
-apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; =
white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><DIV><BR =
class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><BR =
class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><BR =
class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><BR =
class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>--=A0<BR>Chris M. Anson=A0<A =
href=3D"http://www.home.earthlink.net/~theansons/Portcover.html"><SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"color: rgb(0, 0, 238); =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"color: rgb(0, 0, 238); =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"color: rgb(0, 0, 238); =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">[Web =
site]</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></A></DIV><DIV>Professor of English=A0<BR><A =
href=3D"www2.chass.ncsu.edu/cwsp"><SPAN class=3D"Apple-style-span" =
style=3D"color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: =
underline; "><SPAN class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"color: rgb(0, 0, =
238); -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"color: rgb(0, 0, 238); =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"color: rgb(0, 0, 238); =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"color: rgb(0, 0, 238); =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">Director, Campus Writing =
and Speaking Program=A0</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></A><BR>Box =
8105,=A0North Carolina State University=A0<BR>Raleigh, NC=A0 =
27695-8105=A0<BR>(919) 513-4080=A0<BR></DIV><BR =
class=3D"Apple-interchange-newline"></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></S=
PAN></SPAN> </DIV><BR></BODY></HTML>=

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