From Claire Lauer — whose “Contending with Terms: ‘Multimodal’ and ‘Multimedia’ in the Academic and Public Spheres” we read when D-WRD was first getting started — has a new and related article, “Expertise with New/Multi/Modal/Visual/Digital/Media Technologies Desired: Tracing Composition’s Evolving Relationship with Technology through the MLA JIL.”
Highlights
- Traces 17 technology-related keywords through 20 years of the Modern Languages Association’s Job
Information List - Reports on usage trends for each of the keywords and discusses trends in rank, position titles, and Carnegie Classification
- Discusses how trends can be understood through the lens of significant developments in the field of computers and writing
- Argues for greater precision in our definitions of terms and ownership over our use of terms to better legitimize the work we do
Abstract
This article reports on the results of a detailed examination of the past two decades of MLA Job Information List advertisements to identify the changing ways in which members of the field of rhetoric and composition have talked about the kinds of texts, technologies, and composing practices they are looking for in the teaching and research of new hires. This study catalogued the ways in which seventeen technology-related keywords have been used in MLA job advertisements over the past two decades. It discusses how trends can be understood through the lens of significant developments in the field of computers and writing suggests future trajectories. Finally, it argues that by taking ownership over the way we name and define the new composing practices and technologies we have come to value, we will be better positioned to guide the development of our students and articulate the importance of our work in a way that ensures its continuation.