Facing the issues: Addressing current social and political controversies in first-year college writing curricula

While some believe that including social and political issues in first-year college composition pedagogy helps students learn to read, research, think, and write critically, others are concerned that focusing on such controversial topics will draw students away from the traditional goals of this course (introduction to academic prose, writing as a process, instruction in grammar and usage). These concerns are being voiced not only among composition theorists and practitioners but also among those outside the academy who worry that students at this impressionable time in their lives will be swayed toward the political ideologies of the teacher or of the more powerful members of the class.; This study examines the controversies over what students should be learning in first-year composition. It provides a brief overview of the history of rhetoric and writing instruction to show that such instruction has always been informed by social and political issues. It then places the current controversies over this pedagogy into a theoretical framework. Drawing from rhetorical, feminist, multicultural, literacy, and critical theory, it explores the complex and interdisciplinary nature of the questions surrounding the content of first-year writing curricula and the arguments concerning the inclusion of current controversial issues within them. It also examines opinions from some composition directors and faculty about the first-year writing class as an appropriate site for addressing social and political issues and describes some specific pedagogies that work toward that end. Finally, it analyzes five composition textbooks to determine ways in which they address social and political issues in light of the concerns expressed by composition theorists and practitioners.; The study concludes that there are ways to both meet the traditional goals of first-year writing instruction and to introduce students to social and political issues as a way to help them improve their abilities to read, write, and think critically. It recommends more persistent efforts to engage composition practitioners in their relevant discourse communities and more research into the experiences of students enrolled in first-year college writing courses that address social and political controversies.