Map

All through the day 

I me mine, I me mine, I me mine.

All through the night 

I me mine, I me mine, I me mine.

-George Harrison

// MAP (n.)

The title of this section refers to a spatial representation, rather than a route, course, or direction. To the right of this page are various digital spaces that make up the content of my studies in writing thus far. Aside from the section you are currently reading, the spaces can be read in any order. A straight reading, from top to bottom, is perfectly acceptable, however, whether it can truly be done is debatable. The playful terminology in my headings is meant to disorient. Depending on who's reading, certain ideas in the concluduction may seem introductory, while the ideas presented in the introdusion may seem especially conclusion-y. Or vice versa. To complicate things further, there are also the pages I've chosen to display to the left and right of the "Map" page, at the top of the blog. How one goes about organizing and navigating this text is largely determined by one's prior knowledge, professional needs, and personal motivations. By relinquishing control of the way a reader moves through my text, I hope to enact my theory of writing by creating an environment that encourages the reader evaluate his or her own needs / desires / motivations in order to organize the content presented here in a meaningful way.

The various components of this digital space move around under the controlling ideas of exigency as it is used in Writing Across Contexts by Yancey et al. (WAC), as a need, demand, or purpose to be addressed in writing, and motivation as it is used in How Learning Works (HLW) by Ambrose et al., (as a crucial component in the learning process). In all areas of the site, I attempt to synthesize both concepts and argue that they are pre-requisites to the understanding and realization of a third “threshold concept” of knowledge creation as it is used in Naming What We Know (NWWK) ed. Alder Kassner and Wardle. (Note: please refer to the bibliographic key for full titles and citations). 

The graphic above illustrates my argument, however this simple framework is expanded and developed in each component of this site. 

Along with the introdusion and concluduction, the site also contains two sections devoted to my theory of writing, one that describes the theory itself as it exists at the present time (a scholarly piece, developing more fully the argument presented above), and one that describes the evolution of this theory through time (a fairly expressive piece). In addition to the theory itself, I identify three spheres where I have attempted to apply my theory of writing: Sphere 1 is my job as a secondary English teacher, Sphere 2 is my role as a graduate student of English, and Sphere 3 is my future role as an instructor of English in higher education. Again, the numbers are fairly arbitrary–each sphere can be considered in any order, and in fact all three spheres overlap and inform one another. Much of what's iterated in Spheres 1 and 2 reappears in greater detail in my philosophy of teaching. Likewise, the ideas of Sphere 3 and my teaching philosophy are put into practice in Tolstoy and the Victorians, my vision of a transnational literature / writing intensive course that I am in the process of developing. The course exists now in its raw state, a perfectly imperfect snapshot of my composing process. Finally, there is the blog itself, which functions as an archive for my exploration, reverberation, and colonization of various writing theories. Indeed, throughout the site I’ve included hyperlinks which lead to other spaces within TPC and beyond it, where certain ideas are explored in greater depth or put into practice.

Now you are free to go where you please.