Situating Portfolios
Four Perspectives
“An extremely valuable contribution to the field of rhetoric and composition in at least three distinct ways—through concept, through classroom practice, and in the moment of the reiteration of the field.”
—S. Morgan Gresham, University of South Florida–St. Petersburg
"Written by some of the best-known rhetoric and composition scholars working on the subject of reflection, the essays revisit and revise earlier reflective practices, consider reflection in larger contexts, and theorize new possibilities for reflection, including multimodal reflection. This collection makes a valuable contribution to rhetoric and composition studies by articulating current practices and theories and demonstrating how the field is evolving in response to new technologies, classroom exigencies, and national priorities. . . . Highly recommended."
"An indispensable resource for writing teachers and scholars. . . . A Rhetoric of Reflection demonstrates the vitality of the accumulating body of work on reflective writing, and raises new questions for composition theory and practice."
Reflection in writing studies is now entering a third generation. Dating from the 1970s, the first generation of reflection focused on identifying and describing internal cognitive processes assumed to be part of composing. The second generation, operating in both classroom and assessment scenes in the 1990s, developed mechanisms for externalizing reflection, making it visible and thus explicitly available to help writers. Now, a third generation of work in reflection is emerging.
As mapped by the contributors to A Rhetoric of Reflection, this iteration of research and practice is taking up new questions in new sites of activity and with new theories. It comprises attention to transfer of writing knowledge and practice, teaching and assessment, portfolios, linguistic and cultural difference, and various media, including print and digital. It conceptualizes conversation as a primary reflective medium, both inside and outside the classroom and for individuals and collectives, and articulates the role that different genres play in hosting reflection. Perhaps most important in the work of this third generation is the identification and increasing appreciation of the epistemic value of reflection, its ability to help make new meanings, and its rhetorical power—for both scholars and students.
Contributors: Anne Beaufort, J. Elizabeth Clark, Pamela Flash, Doug Hesse, Bruce Horner, Asao B. Inoue, Cathy Leaker, Christina Russell McDonald, Michael Neal, Heather Ostman, Tyler Richmond, Liane Robertson, Kevin Roozen, Naomi Silver, Jeff Sommers, Kara Taczak
Media
