The history of Composition as a recognized field of study offers an interesting lesson to those of us doing work (or preparing to do so) in the area of Computers and Writing.  In many ways, we are facing the same kinds of issues that were faced by those who chose a specialization in composition within more traditional English departments.  "Computers and writing" is more often seen as skill-based, something that anyone who can use a computer, for example, can "do."  Thus, we end up with job ads that purport to seek those with "some familiarity" with computers in the classroom hiring people with flashy Web sites to teach in very traditional ways, or else they are hired to maintain the labs and teach faculty how to "use" PowerPoint or Dreamweaver....

A large part of the problem is our own doing--we have yet to determine what it means to specialize in our field, if it is, indeed, a field at all.  That is, many of us have argued (and still do) that "computers and writing" is as silly as "pencils and writing."  The technologies we use to write (whatever that may mean) may become transparent, it is true (although as I have argued elsewhere perhaps that is not a necessarily desireable end!).  Nonetheless, understanding the impact of technologies on how we write and on what "writing" even comes to mean is, I would argue, a necessary and valuable area of study in its own right--one that should not be relegated to computer science departments.  It is not enough merely to know how to use technologies; one must be able to think critically about their use (and abuse).  All of this, of course, is nothing new, especially not to those who have spent years considering the ramifications of technologies on what we do.  And, certainly, playing with technology is a necessary part of understanding its impact.

Nonetheless, many graduate education programs in English studies, composition studies, rhetoric, linguistics, and related areas either ignore technology completely or perhaps include it as a "skill" that can be quickly acquired as necessary.  Few of our graduate programs actually offer graduate students a grounding in all of the important work that has already been done in this area--and fewer still consider computers and composition as a discrete area of specialization.

At hiring time, few search committees know what a specialization in computers and composition "means."  A goodly number of job ads do include some mention of technology or computers and writing as a requirement, or at least as a desireable component, of the successful job candidate.  But what exactly do the search committee members understand it to mean?  Based on some of the stories I've heard (and those I experienced myself), search committee members and job applicants are both confused.

We need to define what exactly is meant by a "specialization" in this area.  We need to suggest programs of study to prepare specialists in this field.  And we need to disseminate this information so that graduate students and departments can make informed decisions.

Or maybe not.  Perhaps it's enough to know how to create a Web page or a PowerPoint presentation.  And perhaps anyone can teach writing....

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