Erika Lindemann

There are two major ideas about Erika Lindemann that stuck out to me after Rebecca’s presentation. First, Lindemann is firmly entrenched in the camp that rejects the use of literature in freshman composition courses. Second, Lindemann advocates a System model for the teaching of freshmen compostion courses which attempts to reconcile the differences between the process and product models of writing. These arguments are important because they bring up some interesting questions like: What should be the purpose of entry level composition classes? How should literature be defined?

I think the most important argument that Lindemann makes in her dispute with Tate about whether or not to use literature in freshmen comp classes is that students need opportunities to engage with a variety of genres, styles, and modes of writing. These types of courses should not be designed to breed English majors only; the reality is that most of these students will be moving on to other areas of study far away from literature like engineering, business, or computer information sciences. With students heading in such an array of directions, it is important that they cultivate skills that enable them to engage with many different types of texts. Furthermore, students should be prepared to participate in argumentative discourses outside of the academy and, therefore, need a host of rhetorical and composition skills in order to effectively do so. In addition, as mentioned in class, when using literature to model writing, one runs the risk of the literature becoming the focal point instead of the actual writing.

Lindemann’s system model of teaching composition supports these arguments because it is focused on students' writing. Positioning herself between Peter Elbow and David Bartholomae in their debate, Lindemann not only accepts and rejects ideas from the two, but posits her own notions as well. Belief in the careful reading and analyzing of texts, preparing students to “negotiate the demands of writing in varied disciplines” (Wasil handout), and developing a collaborative environment are all essential ideas to the System model. I also love the quotation that Rebecca provided from Lindemann: “Our goal is to improve writers, not individual pieces of writing.” Unfortunately, there are too many teachers that fail to adhere to this advice.