English 705 (1): Seminar in Composition Studies.
Monday, 3:15-5:45.
Georganne Nordstrom
Delivery Format: Synchronous
Research Methodologies in Composition and Rhetoric.
A hallmark of Composition Studies is the intersection between theory and practice: for compositionists, theory and practice have an almost cyclic relationship, with theory both informing and evolving from observations of particular practices. Whether such practices occur in the classroom or in an identified community—as is the case with many studies on literacy, for example— empirical research in the form of ethnography, mixed-methods approaches, activist research, and practitioner research (to name just a few and often overlapping approaches), is common in the field. These same techniques of using observation and community interaction are also often employed by scholars working in related disciplines, like cultural studies, political science, and folklore studies when conducting research focused on people and their communities to explore all kinds of behaviors and interactions (i.e., voting practices, language use, literacy repertoires, shared communal practices/values, social justice issues, political dispositions, cultural practices, etc.). This course will survey various research methodologies and methods used when conducting fieldwork/research in communities. In Hawaiʻi, like other locations throughout the Pacific, the history of empirical research is fraught with problems of appropriation, exploitation, and, too often, outright violence. An overarching theme of the course will thus be focused on what it means to conduct ethical and responsible research. We will read empirical studies grounded in Composition and Rhetoric as well as projects located in Hawai’i so as to interrogate ethical issues related to the design, implementation, and representation of research.
We will begin by exploring the foundations and evolution of ethnographic research by looking at key texts grounded in disciplines such as Anthropology and Sociology, so as to become familiar with the evolution of research methodologies and the underlying epistemological assumptions they reproduce. We will examine the ways theoretical schools, such as Indigenous studies and feminist studies, inform current research trends, such as activist research and practitioner research, to identify how issues surrounding social justice can be attended to through research approaches and practices. Throughout these examinations, we will interrogate the methods, or practices, employed in fieldwork meant to further the goals of particular methodologies so as to develop an awareness for potential disjunctures between the claims enabled by a methodology and the actual degree to which those claims are realized. To return to the theory-practice connection, students will apply the theoretical knowledge acquired through reading and discussions in the design of a course project, through which they will gain a working knowledge of the key elements of conducting empirical research (i.e., creating a research design, IRB application approval, articulating research questions that can be operationalized), how to design a project in ways that are considered ethical and responsible, and how to work with both qualitative and quantitative data.
Salient questions guiding our work will include:
What does it mean to conduct ethical research?
How/are the claims of a methodology (i.e., claims of collaboration/reciprocity) actualized?
How can methods engender, or undermine, the claims of a methodology?
What role should the socio-historical politics of “place,” using Hawaiʻi and the Pacific as example, play in research design?
Student Learning Outcomes:
Demonstrate an understanding of and ability to apply Advanced Research Methods
Demonstrate an understanding of the inter-disciplinary foundations of Research Methodologies in Composition and Rhetoric
Demonstrate an understanding of the role the socio-historical politics of “place,” specifically Hawaiʻi and the Pacific, plays in research design
Demonstrate an ability to critically situate research, both one’s own and other’s, within scholarly conversations
Assignments:
Weekly Alternative Text Responses (we will be producing responses using a variety of media/mediums) (20%)
Research design/proposal (30%)
A final project that includes empirical research (50%)
Texts will include a selection of the following:
(All readings will be available digitally either through eBook or pdf):
Anderson, P. “Simple Gifts: Ethical Issues in the Conduct of Person-Based Composition Research.” 1998.
Behar, R. & D.A. Gordon. Women Writing Culture. 1994.
Brettell, C. When They Read What We Write. 1993.
Brown, M. A. “Hoʻolauna: Introduction.” Facing the Spears of Change. 2016.
Clifford, J., & G. E. Marcus. Writing Culture. 1986.
Cochran-Smith, M., and S. Lytle. Practitioner Research in the Next Generation. 2009.
Creswell, J.W. & Creswell, J. D.. Research Design Qualitative Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches. 2018.
Cushman, E. “The Public Intellectual, Service Learning, and Activist Research.” 1999.
Cushman, E. The Struggles and the Tools. 1996
Denzin, N., Lincoln, Y, & Smith, L.T. Handbook of Critical and Indigenous Methodologies. 2008
Geertz, C. The Interpretation of Cultures. 1973.
Glaser, B. The Discovery of Grounded Theory. 1967.
Harding, S. Feminism and Methodology. 1987
Haswell, R. “NCTE/CCCC Recent War on Scholarship.” 2005.
Kirsch, G. Ethical Dilemmas in Feminist Research. 1999
Kirsch, G. & Sullivan, P. Methods & Methodologies in Composition Research. 1992.
Lincoln, Y. S., & Denzin, N. K. Turning Points in Qualitative Research: Tying Knots in a Handkerchief (Crossroads in Qualitative Inquiry). 2003.
Mead, M. Coming Of Age In Samoa. 1928.
Miles, M., Huberman, M., & Saldaña, J. Qualitative Data Analysis: A Methods Sourcebook. 2014.
Mortensen, P., & Kirsch, G. Ethics and Representation in Qualitative Studies of Literacy. 1996.
Nickolson, L., & Sheridan P. Writing Studies Research in Practice: Methods and Methodologies. 2012.
Nordstrom, G. A Writing Center Practitioner’s Inquiry into Collaboration: Research Pedagogy & Practice. 2021.
Oliveira, K. K. N., & Wright, E. K. Kanaka ʻŌiwi Methodologies: Moʻolelo and Metaphors. 2016.
Smith, L. T. Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples 1999.