Kastely's Attack on Formalism

For some reason, I couldn't open the link to the Kroll article or find it anywhere else. My computer didn't have a plug-in, I tried downloading it...apparently I wasn't meant to read that one.

Anyway, I'll comment on Kastely's article. His approach to the formalistic teachings of argument made sense to me, in that argument is using discourse to back up a conclusion (222). But, this leaves out the perspective that writing is a process, and it is not the ultimate product that matters, but how we get there. I'm with Sarah S. on this, I intend to incorporate some sense of the writing process into my classroom. This way, I believe that students from all disciplines will be able to apply this process, at least to some extent, into their writings in future classes. So far, I'm with Kastely in his opposition to the formalist approach to writing.

Toward the end of the article, Kastely recognizes the steps students take to a well-crafted essay. He notes they might consider opposing views, take those views into account, provide evidence for their claims, and so on (239). But, ultimately, the essay has little impact on anyone, and so to prevent students from this realization, Kastely proposes writing teachers use literary texts, presumably Greek dramas, to teach theoretical argument (239). I can relate to the idea that the Greeks were well-versed in discourse, and that examining their texts would allow students to recognize the impact of a good argument. They would listen, as Kastely states earlier, and perhaps learn something about themselves. True, but I worry about using literary texts in a class comprised of non-English majors. That seems cruel.

I've been waffling on what sorts of texts to use, and I think using Antigone, or something similar, would be comforting to me, but painful for my students. I wouldn't be the only one using Greek dramas on campus though--Trever had to read Oedipus for his Constitutional Law course in his second year of law school. Not sure I understand the connection in that instance, but maybe Kastely's right, that there is something to be found and applied in teaching argumentation with a literary text.