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One critical component of scholarship and teaching in English Language and Literature studies is careful
attention to language itself-from the intricacies of its structure to its textual and discursive power
to the study and teaching of its production. Built on the primary interest and expertise of eight faculty
members listed below, the Department of English at the University of Washington has offered a track in
English Language and Rhetoric at both the M.A. and Ph.D. level since 1992. The Language and Rhetoric track-broadly understood as covering interests from rhetoric and composition through discourse analysis and stylistics, to studies in Old and Middle English, English language history, language theory, and second language acquisition-includes three specific concentrations: Composition and Rhetoric, English Language Studies, and Applied Linguistics. The boundaries among these three concentrations are fuzzy, and the work of many Language and Rhetoric faculty and students crosses such distinctions. In general, the three concentrations can be outlined as follows:
At the Ph.D. level, for students whose interests lie primarily in language and rhetoric rather than literature, the department established a sequence of examination areas parallel to those required of literature students. For Language and Rhetoric students, the areas of examination are Approach I, Approach II, and Topic, where the approaches are among those introduced in the core courses of the Masters Program (e.g. Rhetorical Theory, Language, Discourse Analysis, etc.) and the Topic is defined by the student. It may or may not be the area of the dissertation. In addition, the student takes an Oral Exam which includes follow-up questioning on the written exams and the presentation by the student of a syllabus for a course in their area of specialization. Upon successful completion of the exams, the student is admitted to Candidacy (Ph.C). The student then presents a prospectus for their dissertation for discussion with their committee in an oral Prospectus exam. Upon completion of the dissertation, students are examined in an oral Defense and the degree of Ph.D conferred. The graduate students in the area have put up a useful website of resources and aids for planning. The language faculty in the Department of English are all active teachers and scholars, with a range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary interests; many are involved in collaborative research projects. They are particularly concerned with supporting graduate English language studies in as wide a range as possible, while providing-through courses and through supervision of masters essays, exams, and dissertations-an integrated and coherent preparation for students' applications of those studies. Current graduate students in the English Language and Rhetoric track represent diverse interests, from critical discourse analysis of basic writing curricula and ethnographic research on the teaching of writing to legal discourse analysis and national language policy and history, from analysis of adult literacy narratives to language and gender in the military. | ||||
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Major Research Interests | ||||
Anis Bawarshi: composition studies; rhetorical theory; genre theory George Dillon: rhetorical theory; language theory; electronic text Juan Guerra: literacy; ethnography; composition theory Yasuko Kanno: bilingual education and bilingualism; language, culture, identity Sandra Silberstein: reading theory, processes, pedagogy; sociolinguistics; discourse analysis Robert Stevick: history of English Gail Stygall: discourse analysis; social and rhetorical theory; legal discourse James Tollefson: language policy; second language acquisition | ||||
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