- Ph.D., State University of New York, Binghamton, 1978
- M.A., English Literature, Hofstra University, 1974
John Lincoln Schilb
Professor Emeritus, English
- jschilb@indiana.edu
- Office Hours
Education
About John Lincoln Schilb
I specialize in composition, rhetoric, and literary theory, as well as being interested in how these areas connect. I explore possible links among them in my current work as editor of the journal College English, in my 1992 book Between the Lines: Relating Composition Theory and Literary Theory (Boynton/Cook), and in two collections I co-edited for the Modern Language Association: Contending with Words: Composition and Rhetoric in a Postmodern Age (1991) and Writing Theory and Critical Theory (1994). In my most recent book, Rhetorical Refusals: Defying Audiences’ Expectations (Southern Illinois University Press, 2007), I turn to examining a specific kind of persuasive act, one in which the writer or speaker deliberately breaks with rhetorical conventions to achieve some higher aim. Here at IU, I regularly teach both graduate and undergraduate courses, including a seminar on Holocaust representations for the University’s summer Intensive Freshman Seminars Program. Also, I train Indiana and Michigan high school instructors to teach our undergraduate course in Literary Interpretation at their home institutions.
Journal Articles and Other Publications
Chapters in Books:
“Composing Literary Studies in Graduate Courses.” Disciplining English. Ed. David Shumway. and Craig Dionne. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2002. 137-48.
“The WPA and the Politics of Litcomp.” The Writing Program Administrator’s Resource. Ed. Stuart Brown, Theresa Enos, and Catherine Chaput. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2002. 165-79.
“Autobiography After Prozac.” Rhetorical Bodies: Towards a Material Rhetoric. Ed. Jack Selzer and Sharon Crowley. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1999. 202-17.
“Reprocessing the Essay.” Post-Process Composition Theory: Beyond the Writing Process Paradigm. Ed. Thomas Kent. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1999. 198-214.
“Scholarship in Composition and Literature: Some Comparisons.” Academic Advancement in Composition Studies. Ed. Richard and Barbara Geselle Gebhardt. Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1996. 21-31.
“Future Historiographies of Rhetoric and the Present Age of Anxiety.” Writing Histories of Rhetoric. Ed. Victor Vitanza. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1994. 128-38.
“Composing Conflicts: A Writing Teacher’s Perspective.” Teaching the Conflicts: Gerald Graff, Curricular Reform, and the Culture Wars. Ed. William Cain. New York: Garland, 1994. 95-108.
“The History of Rhetoric and the Rhetoric of History.” PRE/TEXT: The First Decade. Ed. Victor Vitanza. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1993. 237-62. [Rpt. With a new postscript from PRE/TEXT 7 (1987): 11-31.]
“Poststructuralism, Politics, and the Subject of Pedagogy.” Pedagogy is Politics. Ed. Maria-Regina Kecht. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1992. 48-69.
“Cultural Studies, Postmodernism, and Composition.” Contending With Words: Composition and Rhetoric in a Postmodern Age. Ed. Patricia Harkin and John Schilb. New York: MLA, 1991. 173-88.
“Text,’ Author,’ Reader,’ and History’ in the Introduction to Literature Course.” Practicing Theory in Introductory College Literature Courses. Ed. James M. Cahalan and David B. Downing. Urbana: NCTE, 1991. 59-71.
Selected Articles:
“Preparing Graduate Students to Teach Literature: Composition Studies as a Possible Foundation.” Pedagogy 1 (2001): 507-524.
“Traveling Theory and the Defining of New Rhetorics.” Rhetoric Review 11 (1992): 34-48.
“What’s at Stake in the Conflict Between Theory’ and Practice’ in Composition?” Rhetoric Review 10 (1991): 91-97.
“The Role of Ethos: Ethics, Rhetoric, and Politics in Contemporary Feminist Theory.” PRE/TEXT 11 (1990): 211-34.
Selected Honors and Awards:
- Honorable Mention, Journal of Advanced Composition W. Ross Winterowd Award, for Between the Lines (1997)
- Nancy Dasher Award from the College English Association of Ohio, for Contending With Words (1994)
- Certificate of Teaching Excellence, University of Maryland (1995)
Editorships:
- General Editor, Series in Composition and Rhetoric, Peter Lang Publishing (1991-98)
- Guest editor, issue on “Teaching Noncanonical Literature,” Reader (1986)
Editorial Boards:
- College English (1998-present)
- Studies in Writing and Rhetoric series, Conference on College Composition and Communication (1996-99)
- Rhetoric Review (1995-present)
- Works and Days (1995-present)
- Reader (1993-present)
- PRE/TEXT (1988-present)
Other Professional Service:
- MLA Delegate Assembly (representing Composition, Writing, and Rhetoric) (1996-98)
- Executive Committee, MLA Division on Teaching as a Profession (1992-96); chair in 1995
- Chair, CCCC Outstanding Dissertation Award Committee (1992-93); member 1990-94
- Executive Board, Association of Teachers of Advanced Composition (1989-91)
- NCTE Committee on Response to Literature (1985-88)
The College of Arts