Date of Award
Fall 2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
English
Program/Concentration
English
Committee Director
Louise Wetherbee Phelps
Committee Director
Julia Romberger
Committee Member
Kevin Depew
Committee Member
Paula Mathieu
Abstract
This pedagogical research study examines the effects of Understanding the Self Through Writing and Rhetoric, an undergraduate course designed by the researcher, on students. The course is an example of contemplative writing pedagogy, one that seeks to foreground first-person direct experience of the subject matter and integrates mindfulness meditation and journaling throughout. While writing and rhetoric are common undergraduate subjects to teach, the course focuses on particular, lesser-known aspects of them, internal rhetoric and self-making narrative. A third important part of the course is the examination of how communication technologies, especially social media and messaging applications, affect one’s internal rhetoric and life narratives. The study approach is mainly phenomenological, attempting to understand if and how the course enables students to gain self knowledge. Student writing samples over two semesters were analyzed and coded for emergent themes. Findings suggest that positive intellectual and personal results, including the development of self-knowledge, can be found through examination of student writing assignments.
Rights
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DOI
10.25777/gw3c-ah98
Recommended Citation
Featherstone, Jared.
"Cultivating Self-Knowledge in the Writing Classroom: A Study of Contemplative Pedagogy"
(2024). Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Dissertation, English, Old Dominion University, DOI: 10.25777/gw3c-ah98
https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/english_etds/197
Included in
Educational Methods Commons, Educational Psychology Commons, Rhetoric and Composition Commons