Rhetoric at the Margins: Revising the History of Writing Instruction in American Colleges, 1873-1947 examines the rhetorical education of African American, female, and working-class college students in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Author David Gold uses archival materials to study three types of institutions historically under-represented in disciplinary histories: a black liberal arts college in rural East Texas; a public women's college; and an independent teacher training school. The rich case studies complement and challenge previous disciplinary histories and suggest that the epistemological schema that have long applied to pedagogical practices may actually limit our understanding of those practices. Gold argues that each of these schools championed intellectual and pedagogical traditions that differed from the Eastern liberal arts model - a model that often serves as the standard for rhetorical education. He demonstrates that by emphasizing community uplift and civic participation, these schools created contexts in which otherwise moribund curricular features of the era - such as strict classroom discipline and an emphasis on prescription - took on new possibilities. Rhetoric at the Margins describes the recent revisionist turn in rhetoric and composition historiography, argues for the importance of diverse institutional microhistories, and asserts that the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries offer rich lessons for contemporary classroom practice. The study brings alive the voices of black, female, rural, southern, and first-generation college students and their instructors, linking these histories to the history of rhetoric and writing. A highly engaging book...should appeal to those interested in the different institutions investigated, alternative sites of rhetorical education, and the history of rhetoric and composition. --Composition Studies An important contribution to the field.... leads us to consider more carefully the historical significance of instruction in diverse institutions...and reminds us that conservative methods and radical aims frequently coexist. --Rhetoric Review Has much to offer rhetoricians, historiographers, and writing instructors.... makes the case that local histories matter and that... schools responding to local community needs...change the face of rhetorical education. --Rhetoric Society Quarterly Fascinating and rich.... The revision of history has long been a pressing project, and Gold's study adds one more incredibly useful method to our repertoire. --Review of Communication "This carefully researched and beautifully written book, packed with fascinating detail, adds significantly to our understanding of ways that writing instruction was delivered in American colleges and universities in the nineteenth century. It also invites us to rethink what we are doing in our classrooms today." --Lucille M. Schultz, author of The Young Composers: Composition's Beginnings in Nineteenth-Century Schools " Rhetoric at the Margins is a major contribution to the field. It offers a historical overview of alterative sites of rhetorical instruction and provides a rich context of these sites and the pedagogies that evolved in these locations." --Susan Kates, author of Activist Rhetorics and American Higher Education, 1885-1937 David Gold, an associate professor of English at the University of Michigan, has published essays in College English , College Composition and Communication , Rhetoric Review , and other journals. Used Book in Good Condition