Reframing Writing, Rhetoric, and Literary Studies: A Mixed Method Approach to Interrogating Intersections

Abstract

Since the inception of literary studies in English Departments in American colleges and universities over a century ago, literature and composition have been pursued as largely separate fields of study. Many studies have looked at how they differ, but few have looked at how their similarities might benefit students. This study compares the underlying values of Writing and Literary Studies through conceptual metaphors (Lakoff and Johnson 2003). A mixed-method procedure of classroom observations, faculty and department chair interviews, student surveys, and textual analysis was employed to ascertain what conceptual metaphors are used in Writing and Literary Studies to determine where their values overlap and where they diverge as a first step in determining if those overlaps could be beneficial to students. Concurrent results of each method were used to triangulate overlap and/or divergence in values. Results show that there are 4 dominant metaphor groups that occur across both Writing and Literary Studies, with a special group emerging called “pseudo-metaphors,” which at first glance demonstrate overlap in values but differ in context, demonstrating that while there may be overlap in values, the context of those values matter. Furthermore, overlap in values suggests that complementary instruction could be of benefit to students in both fields.