Pivotal Moment: Personal Histories of First-Year Composition

Abstract

This project links historical close readings of pivotal figures in the creation of first-year composition (FYC) labor practices to contemporary debates about how to best advocate for and reform contemporary labor conditions, specifically the increasing over-reliance on exploitative adjunct labor and the unique challenges of tiered employment systems. My dissertation investigates Barrett Wendell (1890-1910), Edwin Hopkins (1900-1920), George Wykoff (1940-60), Mina Shaughnessy (1970-1980), and my own teaching experiences (2010-present) through the lens of labor. As we theorize improving the labor conditions surrounding FYC, these conversations must be complemented by microhistories of earlier compositionists dealing with labor issues in FYC. By incorporating historiographical research that offers micro-level analyses of individual case studies, our understandings of historical labor challenges can enrich our vision of current conditions as well as how we develop actionable plans for the future. This project uses feminist rhetorical practices, revisionist historiography, and local/microhistories to achieve this goal.