College English - Volume 70, Issue 3, 2008

The author analyzes his experiences teaching literature courses in which he encourages students to research works by people from their hometowns. He argues that relating literature to concepts of “home” makes English classes more accessible to students while also helping them reflect on important issues in ecocriticism.

Nineteenth-century American leaders in education came to advocate a redesign of the schoolroom that resulted in its being seen as more the province of female teachers than of male teachers. This discourse of reform serves as a case study of how space itself may be rhetorically “gendered.”

Toward the end of his life, Donald Murray felt that his approach to writing instruction was no longer appreciated by journals in his field. Nevertheless, his emphasis on encouraging students to surprise themselves through informal writing still has considerable value.

Reviewed is Disciplinary Identities: Rhetorical Paths of English, Speech, and Composition by Steven Mailloux.