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Composition and the search for self‐awareness

  • James D. Williams
  • Soka University of America
Research Output: Contribution to journal Article Peer-review

Open access

Abstract

Composition studies saw several cogent criticisms of expressivism in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Some scholars assume that those criticisms discredited expressivism in composition studies, ending the focus on assignments that ask students to write personal, supposedly introspective papers that were believed to lead to self‐awareness and self‐identity. Even so, recent research suggests that the expressivist pedagogical orientation is still widely used in writing classes across the US. Joshua Hilst (2012) sought to rehabilitate expressivism by drawing on the work of philosopher Giles Deleuze, arguing that neo‐expressivism provides a palliative to those criticisms. In this regard, Hilst’s analysis follows the current trend of applying Deleuze’s philosophy to a variety of fields. The present analysis therefore consists of two parts, both with pedagogical implications. First, it examines Deleuze’s work and illustrates how his neo‐expressivism and views on writing are incongruent with the expressivism applied in composition studies. Second, it examines the psychological research on introspection and self‐ awareness that has demonstrated with considerable consistency the opacity of mental processes and the difficulty associated with gaining any sense of self‐awareness or self‐identity.

Publication Information

Output type

Research Output: Contribution to journal Article Peer-review

Original language

English

Journal (Volume, Issue Number)

Journal of pedagogic development

Publication milestones

  • Published - 2016

Publication status

Published - 2016

ISSN

2047-3265

External Publication IDs

  • handle.net: 10547/603547

Access to documents

256-645-1-SM.pdf, opens in new tab
Final published version, 254.96 KB