Abstract
The pedagogy of student-driven imitation is derived from Quintilian’s chapter on imitation in book 10 of the Institutio Oratoria, aimed at the mature student and life long learning. Following the precepts of Quintilian, this contemporary pedagogy focuses on the formation of the citizen-orator by addressing questions such as: ‘What models would be fruitful for me as a student to learn from?’ and ‘How can I interact with and imitate a given model attuned to my individual nature and situation?’. Thus, student-driven imitation differs from the classical imitation exercises for beginners dominating the rhetorical tradition by highlighting the student’s individual choice of text and by valuing reflexive process over mirroring.
What publics and what models, then, do different kinds of students turn to? And how are these choices related to the educational setting? Drawing on Quintilian’s chapter on imitation, Atwill’s exposition of techne, and Deborah Brandt’s concept sponsors of literacy, I will discuss results from three action- research-oriented case studies based on students’ work with student-driven imitation in three different educational settings, namely a writing class with students of rhetoric at a Danish university, in mother-tongue teaching in upper secondary school, and in a series of writing workshops at a shelter for young homeless people in Copenhagen. I will show how students of rhetoric tend to engage especially with the writer’s presence as manifested in the chosen model texts, how students in upper secondary school tend to both mirror the teacher’s choice of model text and select texts individually by subject matter, and finally, how participants in a series of writing workshops at a shelter preferred working with poetry and interacted with model texts in a both loyal and agonistic manner. Student-driven imitation as a practice strongly directed by the individual talent seek to reinvigorate Quintilian’s flexible and ambitious stance toward imitation.
What publics and what models, then, do different kinds of students turn to? And how are these choices related to the educational setting? Drawing on Quintilian’s chapter on imitation, Atwill’s exposition of techne, and Deborah Brandt’s concept sponsors of literacy, I will discuss results from three action- research-oriented case studies based on students’ work with student-driven imitation in three different educational settings, namely a writing class with students of rhetoric at a Danish university, in mother-tongue teaching in upper secondary school, and in a series of writing workshops at a shelter for young homeless people in Copenhagen. I will show how students of rhetoric tend to engage especially with the writer’s presence as manifested in the chosen model texts, how students in upper secondary school tend to both mirror the teacher’s choice of model text and select texts individually by subject matter, and finally, how participants in a series of writing workshops at a shelter preferred working with poetry and interacted with model texts in a both loyal and agonistic manner. Student-driven imitation as a practice strongly directed by the individual talent seek to reinvigorate Quintilian’s flexible and ambitious stance toward imitation.
| Originalsprog | Engelsk |
|---|---|
| Publikationsdato | 2017 |
| Status | Udgivet - 2017 |
| Begivenhed | International Society for the History of Rhetoric - Queen Mary, University of London, London, Storbritannien Varighed: 28 jul. 2017 → 31 jul. 2017 Konferencens nummer: 21 |
Konference
| Konference | International Society for the History of Rhetoric |
|---|---|
| Nummer | 21 |
| Lokation | Queen Mary, University of London |
| Land/Område | Storbritannien |
| By | London |
| Periode | 28/07/2017 → 31/07/2017 |