In his recent studies on classical Chinese text structures and contemporary Chinese composition t... more In his recent studies on classical Chinese text structures and contemporary Chinese composition textbooks, Andy Kirkpatrick claims that Mainland Chinese students are taught to write Chinese compositions in contemporary" Anglo-American" rhetorical style.
Most rhetorical readings of Confucius's Analects have focused on his views on eloquence, reflecti... more Most rhetorical readings of Confucius's Analects have focused on his views on eloquence, reflecting an insuppressible impulse among comparative rhetoricians to match Confucian rhetoric to Greco–Roman rhetorical framework. My reading of the text argues that Confucius was more concerned about the suasory power of the multimodality of ritual symbols than narrowly verbal persuasion.
Theme treatment is a long neglected issue in intercultural studies of school writing. Taking a hi... more Theme treatment is a long neglected issue in intercultural studies of school writing. Taking a historical approach, this chapter traces theme treatment in Chinese school essay writing during the 20th century. The study shows that Chinese school writing moved from neo-Confucian topics to Socialist issues for the most part of the century and that the themes always needed to be" correct," or in alignment with the dominant Chinese ideology.
Contrastive studies of Chinese rhetoric have been haunted by several myths. First, there has been... more Contrastive studies of Chinese rhetoric have been haunted by several myths. First, there has been an overemphasis upon the eight-legged essay, tested in the imperial civil service exam for centuries, as virtually the sole representative of expository and persuasive writing in ancient China. Robert Kaplan, Carolyn Matalene, and Guanjun Cai, for example, have concurred on the centrality of the essay in traditional expository and persuasive writings.
Until recent years, various readings of the Analects were centered on verbal persuasion, closely ... more Until recent years, various readings of the Analects were centered on verbal persuasion, closely following or drastically departing from the Greco-Roman rhetoric. Ever since Plato and Aristotle, the overarching emphasis in Western rhetoric has been placed on verbal persuasion of an audience by a speaker or a writer.
This article examines a writing textbook published in the People's Republic of China over two edi... more This article examines a writing textbook published in the People's Republic of China over two editions. I will argue that competing ideologies have constantly and in multifold manners dictated the ways this textbook was produced, disseminated, consumed, and reproduced-the rhetoric for a textbook's production and existence.
The spreading of English and English teaching in the world is commonly conceived as the result of... more The spreading of English and English teaching in the world is commonly conceived as the result of European modernity and imperialism. A historical account of the globalization of the English language often starts from the Industrial Revolution in eighteenth–century Britain and Britain's subsequent global colonization in the nineteenth century, which was an integral part of the European modernization process.
Studies of Confucian rhetoric in the West have largely focused on Confucian figures in pre-imperi... more Studies of Confucian rhetoric in the West have largely focused on Confucian figures in pre-imperial China. 1 The reasons for the enduring interest in this historical period, we suggest, are mainly twofold. First, the hundreds of schools of thought during the Spring and Autumn period (770 BCE—476 BCE) and Warring States period (475 BCE—221 BCE) produced numerous philosophical texts that furnish a treasure trove for interested rhetoricians.
Students in writing courses at all levels of schooling are becoming more culturally and linguisti... more Students in writing courses at all levels of schooling are becoming more culturally and linguistically diverse. In addition to the challenges this development poses for writing instructors, the institutional, governmental, and cultural structures beyond classrooms also affect classroom instruction. The contributors to this edited collection point to a varied landscape in which this combination of factors complicates second language (L2) writing teaching, administration, and research.
Approaches to writing instruction developed in North America have gradually made their presence f... more Approaches to writing instruction developed in North America have gradually made their presence felt in other parts of the world during recent years. A curricular evaluation of the local needs, instruction, assessments, teacher preparation, and other pedagogical factors is crucial for the successful transmission and integration of those approaches into the new contexts.
Xiaoye You is assistant professor of English and Asian Studies at Penn State University, Universi... more Xiaoye You is assistant professor of English and Asian Studies at Penn State University, University Park, where he teaches courses in rhetoric, writing, and the teaching of writing. He is the author of Writing in the Devil's Tongue: A History of English Composition in China (Southern Illinois, 2010). He is currently working on a monograph on rhetoric in early imperial China. Research for this essay was sponsored by the Center for Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, China.
From May 21 to 24, 2004, I attended the 4th International Conference on ELT in China, held in Bei... more From May 21 to 24, 2004, I attended the 4th International Conference on ELT in China, held in Beijing. Held concurrently with this conference was the Basic English Education Symposium. Of the nearly 500 presentations and workshops at the conference, 49 were focused on English writing instruction and assessment at the college level, involving both English and non-English majors.
ABSTRACT: Scholars tend to explain or predict China English's rhetorical strategies on the basis ... more ABSTRACT: Scholars tend to explain or predict China English's rhetorical strategies on the basis of Chinese discourse and cultural preferences. This inference model, I argue, falls short in studying the Chinese variety of English because, first, it essentializes both China English and Chinese, treating their discursive strategies as two easily generalizable, static entities; second, it neglects context, which determines the semiotic meaning potential of any language.
ABSTRACT Cross-national, or cross-cultural, studies of academic writing have moved beyond contras... more ABSTRACT Cross-national, or cross-cultural, studies of academic writing have moved beyond contrastive rhetoric's textual focus to broad concerns of students' first-and second-language literacy development. However, we remain in the dark as to how, in a micro view, students initiate into academic discourses in cross-national contexts. Situating our study in first-year writing courses in a Taiwanese and a US university, we examined students' negotiation acts when they struggled to enter into social science discourses.
In his recent studies on classical Chinese text structures and contemporary Chinese composition t... more In his recent studies on classical Chinese text structures and contemporary Chinese composition textbooks, Andy Kirkpatrick claims that Mainland Chinese students are taught to write Chinese compositions in contemporary" Anglo-American" rhetorical style.
Most rhetorical readings of Confucius's Analects have focused on his views on eloquence, reflecti... more Most rhetorical readings of Confucius's Analects have focused on his views on eloquence, reflecting an insuppressible impulse among comparative rhetoricians to match Confucian rhetoric to Greco–Roman rhetorical framework. My reading of the text argues that Confucius was more concerned about the suasory power of the multimodality of ritual symbols than narrowly verbal persuasion.
Theme treatment is a long neglected issue in intercultural studies of school writing. Taking a hi... more Theme treatment is a long neglected issue in intercultural studies of school writing. Taking a historical approach, this chapter traces theme treatment in Chinese school essay writing during the 20th century. The study shows that Chinese school writing moved from neo-Confucian topics to Socialist issues for the most part of the century and that the themes always needed to be" correct," or in alignment with the dominant Chinese ideology.
Contrastive studies of Chinese rhetoric have been haunted by several myths. First, there has been... more Contrastive studies of Chinese rhetoric have been haunted by several myths. First, there has been an overemphasis upon the eight-legged essay, tested in the imperial civil service exam for centuries, as virtually the sole representative of expository and persuasive writing in ancient China. Robert Kaplan, Carolyn Matalene, and Guanjun Cai, for example, have concurred on the centrality of the essay in traditional expository and persuasive writings.
Until recent years, various readings of the Analects were centered on verbal persuasion, closely ... more Until recent years, various readings of the Analects were centered on verbal persuasion, closely following or drastically departing from the Greco-Roman rhetoric. Ever since Plato and Aristotle, the overarching emphasis in Western rhetoric has been placed on verbal persuasion of an audience by a speaker or a writer.
This article examines a writing textbook published in the People's Republic of China over two edi... more This article examines a writing textbook published in the People's Republic of China over two editions. I will argue that competing ideologies have constantly and in multifold manners dictated the ways this textbook was produced, disseminated, consumed, and reproduced-the rhetoric for a textbook's production and existence.
The spreading of English and English teaching in the world is commonly conceived as the result of... more The spreading of English and English teaching in the world is commonly conceived as the result of European modernity and imperialism. A historical account of the globalization of the English language often starts from the Industrial Revolution in eighteenth–century Britain and Britain's subsequent global colonization in the nineteenth century, which was an integral part of the European modernization process.
Studies of Confucian rhetoric in the West have largely focused on Confucian figures in pre-imperi... more Studies of Confucian rhetoric in the West have largely focused on Confucian figures in pre-imperial China. 1 The reasons for the enduring interest in this historical period, we suggest, are mainly twofold. First, the hundreds of schools of thought during the Spring and Autumn period (770 BCE—476 BCE) and Warring States period (475 BCE—221 BCE) produced numerous philosophical texts that furnish a treasure trove for interested rhetoricians.
Students in writing courses at all levels of schooling are becoming more culturally and linguisti... more Students in writing courses at all levels of schooling are becoming more culturally and linguistically diverse. In addition to the challenges this development poses for writing instructors, the institutional, governmental, and cultural structures beyond classrooms also affect classroom instruction. The contributors to this edited collection point to a varied landscape in which this combination of factors complicates second language (L2) writing teaching, administration, and research.
Approaches to writing instruction developed in North America have gradually made their presence f... more Approaches to writing instruction developed in North America have gradually made their presence felt in other parts of the world during recent years. A curricular evaluation of the local needs, instruction, assessments, teacher preparation, and other pedagogical factors is crucial for the successful transmission and integration of those approaches into the new contexts.
Xiaoye You is assistant professor of English and Asian Studies at Penn State University, Universi... more Xiaoye You is assistant professor of English and Asian Studies at Penn State University, University Park, where he teaches courses in rhetoric, writing, and the teaching of writing. He is the author of Writing in the Devil's Tongue: A History of English Composition in China (Southern Illinois, 2010). He is currently working on a monograph on rhetoric in early imperial China. Research for this essay was sponsored by the Center for Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, China.
From May 21 to 24, 2004, I attended the 4th International Conference on ELT in China, held in Bei... more From May 21 to 24, 2004, I attended the 4th International Conference on ELT in China, held in Beijing. Held concurrently with this conference was the Basic English Education Symposium. Of the nearly 500 presentations and workshops at the conference, 49 were focused on English writing instruction and assessment at the college level, involving both English and non-English majors.
ABSTRACT: Scholars tend to explain or predict China English's rhetorical strategies on the basis ... more ABSTRACT: Scholars tend to explain or predict China English's rhetorical strategies on the basis of Chinese discourse and cultural preferences. This inference model, I argue, falls short in studying the Chinese variety of English because, first, it essentializes both China English and Chinese, treating their discursive strategies as two easily generalizable, static entities; second, it neglects context, which determines the semiotic meaning potential of any language.
ABSTRACT Cross-national, or cross-cultural, studies of academic writing have moved beyond contras... more ABSTRACT Cross-national, or cross-cultural, studies of academic writing have moved beyond contrastive rhetoric's textual focus to broad concerns of students' first-and second-language literacy development. However, we remain in the dark as to how, in a micro view, students initiate into academic discourses in cross-national contexts. Situating our study in first-year writing courses in a Taiwanese and a US university, we examined students' negotiation acts when they struggled to enter into social science discourses.
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