syllabus
calendar
blackboard
student.email
resources
last.updated 2.17.08
Contrastive Rhetoric
Purpose
Kaplan's
1966 article connecting student writers' paragraph organization with their
cultural thought patterns–also known as contrastive rhetoric–has
had a significant impact on the field of L2 Writing. Whether one agrees
with Kaplan's observations or not, his scholarship has generated significant
discussion. And while many find the original scholarship, as well as many
subsequent studies, to be too prescriptive, scholars over the last decade
has begun to study the issue in new, and arguably more productive, ways;
likewise, practical applications of contrastive rhetoric have begun to
be discussed.
Before Class
- Read Kaplan "Cultural Thought Patterns..." [Language Learning 16.1-2]
- Read Conner's "New directions in contrastive rhetoric" [TESOL Quarterly 36.4]
- Kubota and Lehner "Towards a critical contrastive rhetoric" [Journal of Second Language Writing 13.1]
- Read Mao "Rhetorical borderlands" [BB]
- Submit PAB #3 to the Blackboard Discussion Board by the beginning of class
Discussion: Contrastive Rhetoric
We will discuss the following:
- We will define rhetoric, structuralism/poststructuralism, and modernism/postmodernism
- What questions do you have about the readings for today's class?
- Is contrastive rhetoric useful? Explain. Is critical contrastive rhetoric a useful revision?
- Mao never mentions contrastive rhetoric in his article. Is his understanding of Chinese American rhetoric an issue of contrastive rhetoric? Explain. Do you see his scholarship as a response to Kubota and Lehner's call for critical contrastive rhetoric?
Activity: Developing Pedagogical Tools
As Kubota and Lehner state, there is not enough scholarship on the practical applications of contrastive rhetoric. Therefore, in class we will develop some practical applications. You will work in groups of four or five. Each group will be assigned one of the following pedagogical tools to develop:
- the assignment sheet for an argumentative research paper
- a lesson plan on pre-writing
- a graphic organizer for a summary and response paper
- a rubric for grading a persuasive essay
As a group decide whether you are teaching a college course or a language arts course. Based upon what you know about contrastive rhetoric, develop the pedagogical tool you have been assigned assuming that you only have three L2 writers in your class of 22. Write a brief rationale of your tool based upon the readings for today (or other relevant scholarship).
If someone in your group has a laptop, you can use it to compose your tool. You will be asked to present your work before the end of class.