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Textbook Review II: Envision

Published on March 9, 2008 in Textbook Reviews. 0 Comments

–Envision: Writing and Researching Arguments

–By Christine L. Alfano and Alyssa J. O’Brien. Pearson Education, 2008.

I feel unable to write this review without referencing (i.e. comparing it to) my first textbook review on Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students. The editors of Ancient Rhetorics thoroughly emphasized invention rather than convention.

That being said, Envision: Writing and Researching Arguments implicitly emphasizes convention under the guise of invention. What I label as “conventional,” the editors of Envision describe as “time-honored writing techniques based on classical rhetoric” (xiii).

And surely, the “classical rhetoric” espoused in Envision does not refer to the same sophistic rhetoric and process pedagogy described in Ancient Rhetorics. Rather, the “classical rhetoric” in Envision seems to fall in line with the formulaic “modern rhetoric” disparaged in Ancient Rhetorics.

To be fair, the editors of Envision are quite comfortable with these “time-honored” conventions: “We walk students through interactive lessons on crafting thesis statements, structuring argumentative essays, developing research topics, evaluating sources, integrated quotations, revising papers, and, finally, designing and presenting effective presentations and writing projects (xiii). And don’t forget the token chapter on documentation and plagiarism.

Let me return to my initial statement: Envision emphasizes convention under the guise of invention. What I mean by “under the guise of invention” is that the book employs images, advertisements, cartoons, films, and other contemporary examples in an attempt to capture student interest while also building a “solid rhetorical foundation” in the core skills of analysis, argument, and research writing.

However, the pairing of contemporary media and “time-honored writing techniques” feels a little arbitrary and superficial at times. For example, editorial cartoon and comic strips are paired exclusively with a chapter on “analyzing texts” and developing thesis statements, while film and movie trailers are paired with a chapter on “organizing and writing research arguments.” The chosen media focus that parallels each chapter is perhaps a bit random. (But I would never deny my enjoyment of Calvin and Hobbes.)

[Note: this textbook, like Ancient Rhetorics, mentions Jon Stewart of The Daily Show. This must be a new requirement of composition textbooks.]

Now, whereas Ancient Rhetorics belittled the value of the personal narrative and expressive discourse, Envision has got you covered. A number of the “Writing Projects” and “Creative Practices” in this textbook ask students transform their reflections into a personal narrative essay.

Moreover, the editors of Envision are proponents of collaborative pedagogy, and each chapter contains a “Collaborative Challenge” that asks students to work together and often share their results with the class.

Interspersed throughout the textbook are invitations to check out “Student Writing” online. For example, during the chapter on pathos and “appeals to emotion,” the text invites you to check out Cyrus Chee’s rhetorical analysis of “two poster ads for contemporary films about the Holocaust.” Check it out at www.ablongman.com/envision/207.

Are you a thesis junkie? Well, Envision can calm those jitters and hook you up with a cheap fix. Whether it’s the six steps to developing a working thesis, or simply the abundant examples of clear and persuasive thesis statements, Envision can quench your thirst for significance in a single sentence.

So, Eric. Is this textbook practical?

Well, if you’re thinking about assigning five-paragraph essays, then Envision might be able to provide some colorful assistance. If you’re thinking about deconstructing advertisements, Envision could prove useful. There is potential here, but it’s all about how the instructor selectively reaps the benefits.

P.S. – Doesn’t “Envision,” the title itself, kinda sound like a pyramid scheme?

Textbook Review I: Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students

Published on March 9, 2008 in Textbook Reviews. 3 Comments

–Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students. Fourth Edition.

–By Sharon Crowley and Debra Hawhee.  Pearson Education, 2009.

First and foremost, this textbook defied nearly all of the assumptions that I had formed simply (and narrow-mindedly) based on the notion of “ancient rhetorics.”

I initially assumed that this textbook would be conservative – a proponent of the “philosophical rhetoric” outlined and bludgeoned by Victor Vitanza.

I was wrong. This textbook is forward-thinking and rooted in cultural studies, adopting the ancient premise “that nobody thinks or writes without reference to the culture in which he or she lives” (xii). (I shouldn’t have ignored the key phrase “for contemporary students” located in the title.)

Indeed, this textbook does consistently delve into facets and terminology of Aristotle’s Rhetoric, but the book does not treat Aristotle as the “be-all, end-all.” (The editors even call him “grumpy” at one point.) Furthermore, the textbook abundantly cites the sophists (i.e. Protagoras, Gorgias, Isocrates, etc.) and lauds their enormous contributions to rhetoric.

The editors openly disparage what they call “modern rhetoric,” that is, the generic formulas, outlines, thesis statements, and conventional approaches to essay writing. “For example, modern rhetoric textbooks insist that every composition display a thesis. Ancient teachers, in contrast, were not so sure that every discourse has a thesis to display” (9). The predominant emphasis of this textbook remains focused on invention rather convention, and this attitude reflects a process-oriented pedagogy rather than a product-oriented pedagogy.

In ancient times, the study of rhetoric was equivalent to the study of citizenship. Thus, the editors avoid an ego-driven pedagogy that begins and ends with the self, and instead argue for the importance of inserting one’s voice within the discourse of a community.

As a result, this textbook never asks students to write personal essays or to generate expressive discourse. “We do not accept the assumption that writing should begin with personal expression and move outward into expository and persuasive modes” (xv).

The book is openly political at times. The editors acknowledge that “power is distributed unequally in our culture… that men have more power than women and that white people have more power than people of color” (page 6). Accordingly, the editors assert that rhetoric has the potential to remedy these inequities among citizens.

The language of the textbook is accessible and lucid (“An ancient teacher of rhetoric named Aristotle defined rhetoric as…”), perhaps meant to accommodate the freshman level of understanding and to “balance out” the foreignness of ideas like kairos and stasis theory. Moreover, the book frequently cites current events (e.g., the shooting at Virginia Tech) and popular figures (e.g., Jon Stewart of the Daily Show) to appeal to the typical freshman’s sense of relevance and taste.

Show me another textbook that employs a comparison of Achilles and Hector, followed by a comparison of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, to help elucidate the meaning of ethos and ethical proof.

Each of the twelve chapters ends with a number of “Rhetorical Activities” and progymnasmata (the elementary rhetorical exercises used in ancient schools of rhetoric). Interestingly, the notion of thesis was the last, and most difficult, of the progymnasmata completed by ancient students of rhetoric.

But you want to know: Is the book useful? Would you use it in your class?

The text is long (over 400 pages) with few pictures and illustrations. Some of the concepts are dense and probably not worth introducing to an incoming freshman. Therefore, I probably wouldn’t use the book as a whole. Nevertheless, the three central chapters on logos, ethos, and pathos could prove incredibly useful for a freshman composition course. Is it legal for me to make photo copies of these chapters, and thus avoid having freshman buy the book?