JAC: A Journal of Composition Theory, Volume 28, Numbers 1 & 2, 2008 Page: 70
390, [6] p. : ill. ; 22 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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jac
other hand, try to obliterate all the differences in the way Ameri-
cans speak and write? Our major emphasis has been on uniformity,
in both speech and writing; would we accomplish more, both
educationally and ethically, if we shifted that emphasis to precise,
effective, and appropriate communication in diverse ways, what-
ever the dialect? (2)
Indeed, as the Students' Right document suggests, the question of
whether the form of a person's dialect or home language can be separated
from its content-and content in this case implicates a person's very
identity-continues to trouble composition as a discipline. Thus,
"Student's Right to Their Own Language" reflects the continuing rel-
evance of the most important issue in style theory.
As part of reanimating style in composition, then, the field ought to
draw more on the "Students' Right to Their Own Language" and the
guidance it offers. Now almost thirty-five years old, the document often
seems to go unnoticed. In terms of its reception in the public sphere, it
arguably serves as the basis of misconceptions about how the field treats
writing and how it has construed the very nature of difference with respect
to language, dialect, and style. Within composition studies itself, the
document, unwittingly perhaps, has given impetus to a reductive view of
style that is, ironically, just the opposite of what the document's authors
envision. It has perhaps produced an internal tension within the field that
would, if explored more fully, help composition and rhetoric articulate far
more clearly a position that could reinvigorate interpretations of style-
and of the field-in the public sphere.
Complicating "Clarity" in the Public Sphere
As "Students' Right to Their Own Language" suggests, the field of
composition has a number of innovative ideas with respect to language
that should be introduced in the public sphere, if only because they
challenge conventional wisdom. One example of this is the complication
of the notion of"clarity," which is often taken as a given not only in public
discourse, but in the field, as well. Take, for instance, Mac Donald's
Public Interest article, which begins with the assertion that "the only70
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Association of Teachers of Advanced Composition (U.S.). JAC: A Journal of Composition Theory, Volume 28, Numbers 1 & 2, 2008, periodical, 2008; (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc268403/m1/68/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .