JAC: A Journal of Composition Theory, Volume 28, Numbers 1 & 2, 2008 Page: 74
390, [6] p. : ill. ; 22 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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jac
as if I am disengaging into some form of "individualism," or
"expressionism," for I do not believe in such a fatuous, dangerous
concept as practiced in our field. (29)
In the context of the full interview in Composition Studies, Vitanza
expresses the point of view that as a field, composition has always been
positioned among research protocols borrowed from various disciplinary
interests, and he is acknowledging how, as a scholar allied with postmodern
theory, he is torn trying both to conform to and resist those protocols. Yet,
by focusing on these contradictory positions without giving additional
context, the magazine attempts to ridicule Vitanza's equivocation. None-
theless, his words express brilliantly the lack of clarity he obviously feels
on this subject. Likewise, the debate over expressionism in the field is
complicated by years of disciplinary discussion, and while Vitanza is
in a camp that might indeed label expressionism "fatuous," the
Harper's excerpt provides none of the background necessary for
readers to understand its historical complexity, making the scholar
again seem out of touch with the field-and certainly with his
audience.
Ongoing Disciplinary Division
While much of the misunderstanding about the role of style in composi-
tion comes from outside the field, the abandonment of the study of style
has led to the perpetuation of certain preconceptions from within the
discipline as well. In a College English opinion piece, for example, Peter
Elbow, one of composition's best-known scholars, suggests that style is
now almost exclusively a part of the "culture" of literary studies. In "The
Cultures of Literature and Composition: What Could Each Learn from
the Other?" Elbow, calling for a kind of revival of style in composition,
suggests that currently it is literature-and not composition- that has "a
culture that considers the metaphorical and imaginative uses of
language as basic or primal" (536). In other words, Elbow suggests,
the discipline of literary studies has become in essence the province
of style:74
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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/m1/72/: accessed April 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .