Davies, Laura

Mullally, Erin

English

epublications@Marquette

Conversations on Jesuit Higher EducationVolume 43 Article 113-1-2013Reports: A Course to Blog AboutLaura DaviesErin MullallyFollow this and additional works at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/conversationsRecommended CitationDavies, Laura and Mullally, Erin (2013) "Reports: A Course to Blog About," Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education: Vol. 43, Article11.Available at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/conversations/vol43/iss1/11Conversations 21Like Fairfield, the University of DetroitMercy (UDM), has also revised its writ-ing program, improved its writing cen-ter, and adopted new learning out-comes in the soon to be implementedcore curriculum which focus on thedevelopment of ethos, language ascivic action, and other enduring rhetor-ical competences. At Loyola UniversityMaryland (LUM), the writing depart-ment enacts the centrality of writingand rhetoric by bringing together thecore writing course, a writing majorand minor, writing-across-the curricu-lum support (including a Loyola writ-ing handbook with contributions fromevery department), and the writingcenter into an integrated ensemble ofinitiatives. Their writing center extendsthe ideal of social justice into the larg-er Baltimore community through itshigh school peer tutoring program. As we confer across campuses, ourmutual commitment to eloquentia per-fecta bears a transformational capacity.Accompanying each other in the Jesuitsense, with humility—not appropriat-ing each other’s projects, but being indialogue with each other as we choosehow to proceed, cultivates our sense ofself-awareness and criticism, and hasopened avenues of possibility that haveenhanced our individual work. Ourongoing collaborative work will contin-ue to focus on Jesuit rhetorical practicefor discernment and action in service ofthe common good, grounded in bestpractices in contemporary compositionand rhetoric. And when we grow frus-trated by the pace and complex nego-tiations of group writing and the longtrail of drafts, emails, and conversa-tions, we remind ourselves that the firstgreat Jesuit educational document, theRatio of 1599, was the result of count-less iterations, reports, revisions. Wehave to laugh and ask, Why should itbe any different now?Laurie Ann Britt-Smith is an assistant professor of English and director of thewriting program and center at theUniversity of Detroit Mercy; LisaZimmerelli is an assistant professorand writing center director at LoyolaUniversity Maryland; Cinthia Gannettis an associate professor of English,director of core writing, and CAEcoordinator of writing across the com-munity at Fairfield University; andJohn Kerrigan is an associate professorof English and chair of the humanitiesdivision at Rockhurst University.A Course to Blog About Laura Davies and Erin MullallyA few weeks ago, Laura stumbled upona blog one of her writing students kept.To her surprise, the student caredenough about what they had talkedand wrote about to post her essaysabout critical writing and Ignatian spir-ituality on her very non-academic blog.In one post, she wrote: ‘Though I amnot even halfway through the semester,I feel like this course has alreadyhelped me to grow a lot and come toterms with who I am …’We believe that this student foundher critical writing course meaningfulbecause of the nature of the course.For fall 2011, we designed a pilot first-year writing course at Le MoyneCollege that enacted Ignatian peda-gogy: teaching writing through a holis-tic pedagogical framework that empha-sized 1) care of the individual stu-dent,  2) individual reflection and self-evaluation, and 3) a concern for theethical ramifications of rhetorical acts.We had five sections of freshmancomposition, approximately one hun-dred students. We wanted students toapproach writing through Ignatian ped-agogy. We also wanted them to seewho the man behind the curtain was,naming for them the processes wewere following, so they could contem-plate our classroom practices and writ-ing prompts as arguments themselves.The assignments and classroom activi-ties were all selected to stage teachingas a rhetorical activity.The course was organized arounda progression of three questions: Whatis Jesuit higher education for? Whatdoes it mean to be a college writertoday? What does it mean to get a col-lege education in the 21st century? First, the students explored the450-year history of the Jesuit order andread about Ignatian spirituality, theworldview of Ignatius of Loyola, andscholarship about the Catholic intellec-tual tradition (including selections byJohn Paul II, John Henry Newman,Adolfo Nicholás, Peter-HansKolvenbach, James Martin, MonicaHellwig and Kevin Clarke). Theseworks gave the course a foundationupon which to explore contemporarymerits of liberal arts education and thepros and cons of campus life in authorsincluding Mark Edmundson, LouisMenand, Mary Eberstadt and DonnaFrietas. The specific shared vocabularyalone allowed for nuanced conversa-tion as the students noted the frequentuse of these same terms throughouttheir campus.Then students read scholarship incomposition and rhetoric (selections byGerald Graff, Lester Faigley, Mike Rose,Rebecca Moore Howard, DonaldMurray and Walter Ong), challengingthem to find connections betweenIgnatian pedagogy and the theoriesthat inform our understanding aboutinquiry, rhetoric and digital technology,the writing process, collaborative writ-ing with sources, and academic argu-ment as conversation.Although we found the courseengaging, we noticed some limitations.We designed the course with the tradi-tional first-year, first-semester collegestudent in mind. Many of our studentsfit this category, but not all. The older,non-traditional students found thecourse meaningful, but in differentways than we expected. One, an Army1Davies and Mullally: Reports: A Course to Blog AboutPublished by e-Publications@Marquette, 201322 Conversationsveteran wounded in Iraq, wrote abouthow he saw his life intersecting withthe story of Ignatius. Other students,returning to college, added to our dis-cussions of the worth and cost of a col-lege education today. Additionally, although we used thesame major assignments and many ofthe same readings, our courses werenot identical.  It’s important that thecourse remain flexible so that it canadapt to teachers’ individual expertise.We developed a shared vocabulary anda core set of texts, while retaining theautonomy to tailor the courses to ourown interests. Finally, our pilot projectwas supported through an institutionalgrant, which gave us the resources todo extensive curricular developmentthe previous summer. In one assessment, students wereasked to define academic writing, aquestion previously asked on the firstday which most could not answerclearly. Now, however, all gaveanswers that included terms like “argu-mentative,” “support,” “back up yourclaims,” “include opposing view-points,” “prove a point.” Additionally,when asked to reflect on what theyhave learned about themselves as writ-ers, the overwhelming response mimicsthis one student’s response: “I’velearned that my writing needs work.”   We were delighted by the over-whelmingly positive response becausewe had feared that students wouldreject any prolonged engagement withIgnatian ideals in a required course.During an in-class reflection early inthe semester, Erin’s students consideredthe links between that day’s readingand the college mission statement.Their responses noted how both thestatement and the author’s argument onthe nature of Jesuit ideology affirm thenecessity of individual freedom of con-scious and the importance of living afull life.  As one student, skeptical ofthe “Catholic” element of the Le Moynemission, notes: “It is comforting toknow that the Jesuits and Le MoyneCollege give me the freedom to dowhat I feel is my own path and thatthey will be supportive ofthat.”  Another student notes that “As aJesuit Institution Le Moyne has specificgoals set out for its students includingeducation of the mind and body, adualism at the heart of the Jesuit tradi-tion, critical reasoning and eloquence,skills necessary for students to go intothe world, and a dedication to serviceand learning, which lies at the center ofJesuit spirituality.” These two responses—one sur-prised by the nature of Jesuit educa-tional ideals that do not conform tonegative assumptions of Catholicismand one that sees positive linksbetween academic and non-academicgoals—are typical. Erin felt that thesestudents understood the implicationsbehind why one should attend a Jesuitcollege. All private colleges mustdemonstrate to their students why theirparticular institution is worth attending;even early on, these students seemedreceptive to the distinctive nature of thecollege they had chosen. Laura Davies and Erin Mullally teachin the English department at Le MoyneUniversity. Round-UpWhat’s New in Writingacross the Curriculumat Jesuit InstitutionsToday?John C. Bean“So, while John Carroll (JCU) doesnot have an official Writing Across theCurriculum (WAC) program, we do anumber of WAC-type things,” says TomPace, the director of writing at JCU.Like John Carroll, most Jesuit collegesand universities do a lot of WAC-typethings. What’s new are cross-discipli-nary commitments to eloquentia per-fecta that help students understand thepower of writing to promote deeplearning, civic engagement, and dis-cernment of beliefs and values.“WAC-type things”: Three quickexamples include GonzagaUniversity’s pilot initiative in readingacross the curriculum; the day longworkshop that Tom Pace and col-leagues at John Carroll conduct for fac-ulty teaching writing-intensive courses;or Rockhurst University’s discus-sions of eloquentia perfecta across thecurriculum.A different “WAC-type thing” is thewriting fellows program by PaulaMathieu at Boston College. Unlike adrop-in writing center, a writing fellowsprogram pairs trained graduate-studentfellows with an interested faculty mem-ber on a specific course. The fellowswork with the professor and consultthroughout the semester with studentsduring draft stages of assignments.Also, at least two Jesuit universitieshave WAC websites providing supportinformation for both students and fac-ulty. The Marquette website includesa “department-by-department” refer-ence guide as well as writing tips forstudents. Loyola Maryland has alsoproduced a writing handbook availableon-line.WAC via core initiatives:.Fordham University’s eloquentiaperfecta seminars, taught by facultyacross the curriculum, were featured ina recent article in America (“How toBuild a Better Student” May 16, 2011).Students must take four EP seminarsduring their undergraduate years. St.Joseph’s University also requires awriting-intensive course during each offour years. Seattle University’s newfour-year vertical core requires writingin every core course and specifies thatparticular courses must require a writ-ten or oral assignment.WID (writing in the disciplines)initiatives: In Seattle University’swriting-in-the-majors program, eachReports2Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education, Vol. 43, Iss. 1 [2013], Art. 11http://epublications.marquette.edu/conversations/vol43/iss1/11

Reports: A Course to Blog About

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