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Compiled and maintained by: 
March 30, 2002
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Christian Rhetoric
Theory
A bibliography of contemporary readings This page has been designed for scholars interested in developing and articulating faith-based rhetoric theories and composition pedagogies (especially within the Reformed tradition of historic Christianity). Some of the texts flow from Reformed Christianity, while others stem from other Christian or non-Christian traditions. I have selected 1980 as the arbitrary beginning point for the contemporary period; the bibliography is an incomplete representation of an emerging interest in faith-based rhetoric theories and composition pedagogies. I welcome recommendations for additions to the existing list. The first group of readings focuses on the thetical-critical stance described by John Kok ; some of the texts are faith-based examples of this approach, while others argue for its validity. The second selection of readings represents the critical stance. Several of the texts are examples of faith-based critical stances; a few others call for critical approaches to Christian rhetoric and composition practices. The third set of readings groups contemporary texts which demonstrate the historical role (or lack thereof) of Christian rhetoric. The final cluster of readings is not directly linked to rhetoric or composition. Instead, these texts are suggested as background reading for Christians seeking to develop and articulate thetical-critical theories and pedagogies. |
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Thetical-Critical Stance:
expresses a person's views in distinctive, positive terms and offers knowledgeable, analytical criticism of opposing views |
Berthoff, Ann E., et al. "Interchanges:
Spiritual Sites of Composing." College Composition and
Communication 45 (1994): 237-63.
PE1001 .C6 Annotation pending. Brummett, Barry. “Rhetorical Epistemology and Rhetorical Spirituality.” The Academy and the Possibility of Belief: Essays on Intellectual and Spiritual Life. Ed. Mary-Louise Buley-Meissner, Mary McCaslin Thompson, and Elizabeth Bachrach Tan. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press, 2000. 121-135. LB2324 .A27 2000 Annotation pending. Festival of Faith and Writing. Calvin College. Grand Rapids, MI. April 18-20, 2002. http://www.calvin.edu/academic/engl/festival.htm A bi-annual "conversation and celebration" for authors, publishers, readers, and scholars of faith-based writing . Foehr, Regina Paxton, and Susan A. Schiller, eds. The Spiritual Side of Writing: Releasing the Learner's Whole Potential. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook-Heinemann, 1997. 211 pages. LB1027 .S67 1997 A collection of 15 essays by professional writers, composition specialists, and classroom teachers including James Moffett and Wendy Bishop. Each essay supports the editors' claim that critical thinking and spiritual are "intertwined," rather than oppositional. The sections most tpertinento developing faith-based thetical-critical stances are "Spiritual Philosophies for Teaching and Learning--Embracing the Paradox, Honoring the Whole" (Part I) and "Writing to Transform Our World" (Part IV). As the section "Eastern and Navajo Spirituality" (Part II) should make clear, the essays are not limited to Christian perspectives. However, Christian scholars may be interested in studying the examples of thetical-critical stances developed out of other faiths. The 26-page annotated bibliography is an excellent resource for those interested in pursuing additional reading. Gass, William H., and Lorin Cuoco. The Writer and Religion. International Writers Center Series. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2000. 157 pages. PN49 .W74 2000 This unique volume is a transcript of The Writer and Religion Conference held at Washington University (St. Louis, Missouri) in 1994. The contributors are internationally recognized fiction writers: Eavan Boland, J.M. Coetzee, William Gaddis, Amitav Ghosh, A.G. Jojtabai, and Hanan al-Shaykh. The editors have included the papers read by the six presenters, as well as the prepared responses that panelists made to each of the papers and a written version of the discussions between presenters and audience members (who are identified by name) that followed each presentation. Some readers may be surprised to find a work featuring fiction writers in a list for rhetoric and composition scholars, but those who define rhetoric broadly (to include literature) will take interest in the theoretical perspectives on the intersections of writing and religion presented in this text. Jost, Walter, and Wendy Olmsted, eds. Rhetorical Invention and Religious Inquiry: New Perspectives. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000. 425 pages. BR115 .R55 R44 2000 Walter Ong, Wayne Booth, and other scholars contribute to this collection of 17 essays exploring the overlapping nature and scope of rhetoric and religion. The editors of this ambitious work claim that they are taking advantage of a "present moment [that] opens still further possibilities for recovering both rhetoric and religion" (4). While the authors relate rhetorical theories to Judeo-Christian texts and traditions, not all of them are arguing for a particular faith-based rhetoric. Readers interested in the ways that rhetoric "illuminate[s] faith" (4) are sure to value each of the four sections of this book: "Coming to Faith in Rhetoric," "Speaking of God," "The Rhetoric of Excess, Difference, and the Sublime," and "Rhetoric and Community." Moffett, James. “Censorship and Spiritual Education.” The Right to Literacy. Ed. Andrea Lunsford, Helene Moglen, and James Slevin. New York: Modern Language Association, 1990. 113-9. LC151 . R54 1990 Moffett calls for reading and writing classrooms that encourage an "expanded [spiritual] consciousness" that transcends and transforms culture (in opposition to attempts to transmit particular religions and moralities). Especially concerned that religion not lead to "agnosis" (self-censorship), Moffett cites his own experiences with classroom censorship led by religious groups. Rand, Lizabeth. “Enacting Faith: Evangelical Discourse and the Discipline of Composition Studies.” College Composition and Communication 52.3 (2001): 349-367. PE1001 .C6 http://www.ncte.org/pdfs/subscribers-only/ccc/0523-feb01/CO0523Enacting.pdf Rand calls on composition instructors to critically examine the discourses chosen by their evangelical Christian students. She claims that writing teachers can improve their pedagogy by "start[ing] with the premise that evangelical discourse may reflect an oppositional and critically resistant stance" instead of assuming that it is necessarily anti-intellectual (363). Without personally promoting Christianity, Rand successfully argues for a space for distinctly Christian student rhetoric in composition classrooms. Schaap, James Calvin. "Singing and Preaching: Christians in Writing." Poets and Writers Magazine 26.1 (1998) 18-26. Schaap describes the challenges of Christian writers who are pushed to choose between Christian and secular audiences. Timmerman, John H., and Donald R. Hettinga. In the World: Reading and Writing as a Christian. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1987. 445 pages. PN49 .T54 1987 The authors outline their Christian view of rhetoric in the introduction: it is "an effort to discover an order and clarity which mirror that of God, and . . . a mandate to use ordered, clear writing in an ethical spirit of the Bible--to reveal truth, to ennoble ideas and language, and to dignify the audience as we would have ourselves dignified" (20). Intended as a textbook for freshmen composition classes, the book focuses in the first section (only 45 pages) on writing, and the second section serves as a thematic reader including discussion questions and writing prompts. While the authors do provide an introduction to their Christian view of rhetoric (including sections on purpose, audience, persona, invention, and coherence), the treatment is too brief to fully address the questions that more advanced scholars will certainly have about the nature of this theory and its implications for writing and pedagogy. The writing prompts concern a broader Christian worldview and are not limited to questions about the nature of Christian rhetoric and composition. Amorose, Thomas. “A Christian Rhetoric for the Public Sphere.” The Journal for Peace and Justice Studies XX (1999): 21-49. Please contact Leah Zuidema to share information about locating this article. |
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Critical Stance:
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Anderson, Chris. "The Description of an
Embarrassment: when Students Write about Religion." ADE
Bulletin 94(1989) 12-15. Anderson argues that social-epistemic rhetoric theory, when it is critically employed, calls for composition instructors to practice tolerance and self-examination when they encounter Christian rhetoric in students' writing. Brandt, Deborah, et al. “The Politics of the Personal: Storying Our Lives against the Grain.” College English 64.1 (2001): 41-62. PE1 .C7 http://www.ncte.org/pdfs/subscribers-only/ce/0641-sept01/CE0641Politics.pdf In this symposium, the authors do not seek to establish thetical-critical stances themselves; instead, they investigate the problems that arise when scholars adapt such approaches by merging their personal lives and beliefs with their professional identities. Anne Ruggles Gere writes specifically about her experiences "coming out" as a Christian in the academic world. Other contributors to the symposium are Deborah Brandt, Ellen Cushman, Anne Herrington, Richard E. Miller, Victor Villanueva, Min-Zhan Lu, and Gesa Kirsch. Coates, Ruth. Christianity in Bakhtin: God and the Exiled Author. Cambridge Studies in Russian Literature. NY: Cambridge University Press, 1998. 201 pages. PG2947.B3 C6 1998 Coates analyzes Bakhtin's texts to argue that they are based on a Christian framework. A useful example of how implicit Christian frameworks can be made explicit through analysis. Dively, Ronda Leathers. “Religious Discourse in the Academy: Creating a Space by Means of Poststructuralist Theories of Subjectivity.” Composition Studies: Freshman English News 22 (1993): 91-101. PE1. F74 Unlike many of the other authors in this section, who analyze texts and theories through the lens of Christianity, Dively suggests that Christianity itself (as well as other religious faiths) must also undergo critical analysis in the classroom. Dively argues that instead of "ignoring" or "demeaning" religious beliefs as they surface in students' writings and classroom talk, composition instructors should push students to interrogate their belief systems by theorizing "their own subjectivity as the product ot multiple interpellations rendered by various discourses and affiliations" so that students can "address complexity and conflict in their own writing about religious experience and a lot of other issues" (103). Donnelly, Phillip J. Rhetorical Faith: The Literary Hermeneutics of Stanley Fish. English Literary Studies Monograph Series. Victoria, BC: University of Victoria, 2000. 159 pages. PN98.R44 D67 2000 Through an analysis of Fish's texts, Donnelly examines the position of religious faithfrom which Fish develops his theories. Of particular interest are chapters two ("Faith") and four ("Rhetoric"). Felch, Susan M., Paul J. Contino, and Gary Saul Morson, eds. Bakhtin and Religion: A Feeling for Faith. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 2001. 252 pages. PG2947 .B3 B327 2001 Nine scholars (including Ruth Coates) reexamine Bakhtin's texts to investigate the role that Christian religious thought plays in shaping and framing his writings. Not explicitly devoted to rhetoric/composition, but useful to scholars who incorporate Bakhtinian theory into their own theory and pedagogy. Goodburn, Amy. “It’s a Question of Faith: Discourses of Fundamentalism and Critical Pedagogy in the Writing Classroom.” JAC: A Journal of Composition Theory 18.2 (1998): 333-353. PE1404 .J672 Annotation pending. Perkins, Priscilla. “‘A Radical Conversion of the Mind’: Fundamentalism, Hermeneutics, and the Metanoic Classroom.” College English 63.5 (2001): 585-611. PE1 .C7 http://www.ncte.org/pdfs/subscribers-only/ce/0635-may01/CE0635Radical.pdf Perkins contrasts the relative value of rhetorical and hermeneutical instruction for fundamentalist Christian students. She makes a detailed claim for the effectiveness of hermeneutical metanoia in the composition classroom. "The Spiritual and Scholarly Life." 20 April 2001. Retrieved March 28, 2002 from http://lilt.ilstu.edu/eng351/seantli/identity/index.html This web siteillustrates one person's conception of a Christian, critical stance toward composition pedagoy. Unfortunately, the author remains unidentified, and the site does not provide contextual information or link back to other sites. Walhout, Clarence, and Leland Ryken, eds. Contemporary Literary Theory: A Christian Appraisal. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 1991. 306 pages. PN98.R44 C66 1991 As the title indicates, this collection of essays is "a series of critical reflections from a Christian point of view" and is not an attempt to establish an "alternative theory." While they are tied most directly to literary criticism, the critical approaches analyzed here also inform trends in rhetoric theory and composition pedagogy. Chapters include discussion of widely varied criticisms: formalist and archetypal, moral, Marxist, psychological, reader-response, hermeneutics, deconstruction, feminist, New Historicism, and critical theory. William Vande Kopple takes a more thetical-critical stance in the chapter "Toward a Christian View of Language," although he also critically examines secular theory (particularly that of Derrida). Unfortunately, this text is out of print, but readers seeking guidance in developing or articulating a Christian critique of existing theory would do well to secure a copy. |
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Burton, Vicki Tolar. “John Wesley and the
Liberty to Speak: The Rhetorical and Literary Practices of
Early Methodism.”
College Composition and Communication
53.1 (2001): 65-91. PE1001 .C6 http://www.ncte.org/pdfs/subscribers-only/ccc/0531-sept01/CO0531John.pdf Horner, Winifred Bryan, ed. The Present State of Scholarship in Historical and Contemporary Rhetoric. Revised edition. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1990. James Kinneavy's chapter "Contemporary Rhetoric" is a literature review that demonstrates the current dearth of faith-based rhetorics. Kinneavy outlines many "Promising Areas in Contemporary Rhetoric." Faith-based rhetorics are not included in this list; however, several of the other areas of interest point to emerging interest in the intersection of rhetoric and religion ("Communication Theory, Hermeneutics, and Pragmatics," "Dialectic, Exploration, and Epistemology," and "Religious Oratory"). Kennedy, George A. Classical Rhetoric and its Christian and Secular Tradition from Ancient to Modern times. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1980. 291 pages. PN183 .K4 Kennedy provides an important historical context for contemporary rhetoric scholarship in the Christian tradition. He divides his history into 11 chapters, beginning with Homeric rhetoric and continuing to Blair and Neoclassical Rhetoric. Murphy, James J. Rhetoric in the Middle Ages: A History of Rhetorical Theory from St. Augustine to the Renaissance. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1974. 395 pages. PN173 .M8 In his historical survey, Murphy demonstrates the Christian orientation for much of the rhetoric of the era. |
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Theories of Christian Scholarship |
Kok, John H. “Vollenhoven, Scriptural Philosophy,
and Christian Higher Education.” http://home.planet.nl/~srw/vollen/volkok.htm In this essay, Kok outlines the thought of Dutch philosopher Dirk Vollenhoven and explores the implications of his scriptural philosophy for Christian higher education. Kok claims that synthesizing Christian beliefs with secular thinking will result in a weak compromise. He argues that Christians should instead adopt Vollenhoven's "thetical-critical" stance, expressing their own views in distinct, positive terms and defending these views knowledgeably and analytically to both secular and Christian colleagues. This valuable essay provides a short, yet in-depth guide to Christian methods thinking and knowing. Marsden, George M. The Outrageous Idea of Christian Scholarship. New York: Oxford, 1997. 142 pages. BT738.17 .M37 1997 Annotation pending. Plantinga, Cornelius Jr. Engaging God's World: A Reformed Vision of Faith, Learning, and Living . Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2002. 241 pages. Plantinga outlines central tenets of Reformed Christianity and argues that this perspective is a framework which supports and calls for Christian higher education. |