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abstract: The discipline of rhetoric and composition established the Writing Program Administrators Outcomes Statement (WPA OS) to fulfill a general expectation about the skills and knowledge students should be able to demonstrate by the end of first-year composition. Regardless of pedagogy used, academic preparation of the teacher, or preference of particular topics or types of assignments, the WPA OS is versatile. This dissertation employs a problem-solution argument showcasing methods to improve assignments through intentional use of the WPA OS for a fluid conversation throughout first-year composition and a more clear articulation of course goals. This dissertation includes summation, analysis, and synthesis of documents that inform first-year composition curriculum from foundational organizations within the field, including National Council of Teachers of English, Council of Writing Program Administrators, National Writing Project, and Conference on College Composition and Communication. This study uses the WPA OS as a lens to examine and revise writing assignments that aid in students' comprehension of the WPA OS with particular focus on the areas of rhetorical knowledge and critical thinking, reading, and writing. Framing assignment design with theoretically grounded content and the use of common topics throughout first-year composition is one way to operationalize the WPA OS. Using common topics throughout course content presents opportunities for teachers to include detailed scaffolding in assignments that expand students' literate practices and engage students as critical thinkers and writers. This study explores how using the topic of family, a common topic to all students, provides a rich bank of social, historical, and cultural elements for research and writing. The topic of family seamlessly employs multimodal composition, which presents students with opportunities for developing rhetorical knowledge and expanding students' literacies. This dissertation displays evidence of praxis of the WPA OS from assignment development to presentation of student samples. This study recommends the use of common topics and intentional application of the WPA OS to construct assignments that clearly articulate learning goals in first-year composition. / Dissertation/Thesis / Appendix H: Cecelia Sound Project / Ph.D. English 2011

The historians writing in the Carolingian Empire, with a few important exceptions, frequently ascribed events in recent history to God. Where they have been noticed at all, these statements of God’s agency have usually been explained as political propaganda, to demonstrate God’s favour towards the reigning dynasty. Alternatively, they have been explained by the legacy of late antique Christian historians, from which this language supposedly derived. This thesis aims to demonstrate that this language was a distinctive and innovative feature of the emerging tradition of Carolingian history writing and is best explained in religious terms. It argues that Carolingian historians reflected the emphasis on God’s agency found throughout contemporary culture and that they deliberately reshaped the Christian language bequeathed by their Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and Frankish predecessors. It offers a text-by-text analysis of how God’s agency functioned within each major Carolingian history, to further show the versatility of this language over the period. Taken together, these texts suggest that Carolingian historians wanted to teach their audiences about God’s agency and its implications for their own beliefs, identities, and behaviour. As a result, these histories and their depictions of God’s agency can be seen as a distinctive contribution to Carolingian religious renewal. This thesis thus aims to contribute to our understanding of the relationship between religion, history, and culture in early medieval Europe.

In 1990, the Institute for Historical and Socio-Political Studies of the Central Committee of the Romanian Communist Party was closed, since the Party was dissolved by the Romanian Revolution. Similar institutions had existed in all countries belonging to the Soviet bloc. This Institute was founded in 1951 under the name of the Party History Institute, and modelled on the Marx-Lenin-Engels Institute in Moscow. Since then, it served the Communist Party in producing thousands of books and journals on the history of the Party and of Romania, following Party orders. Previous research has portrayed the Institute as a loyal executioner of the Party’s will, negating the agency of its history-writers in influencing the duties of the Institute. However, the recent opening of the Institute’s archive has shown that a number of internal and previously obscured dynamics impacted on its activities. This book is dedicated to the study of the Party History Institute, of the history-writers employed there, and of the narratives they produced. By studying the history-writers and their host institution, this study re-contextualizes the historiography produced under Communist rule by analysing the actual conditions under which it was written: the interrelation between dynamics of control and the struggle for resources, power and positions play a fundamental role in this history. This is the first scholarly inquiry about a highly controversial institute that struggled in order to follow the constantly shifting Party narrative canon, while competing formaterial resources with rival Party and academic institutions. The main actors in this study are the history-writers: Party veterans, young propagandists and educated historians, in conflicting networks and groups, struggled in order to gain access to the limited resources and positions provided by the Party, and in order to survive the political changes imposed by the leadership. By doing so they succeed, on many occasions, to influence the activities of the Institute.

This dissertation seeks to consider the colonial experiences of Britain in Ireland and India in a comparative context – to contrast their encounters with, and explorations of, early modern Ireland with the late seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Indian subcontinent. The early experience in Ireland helped shape the developing British belief in their own superiority, leading them to draw distinctions between themselves and other peoples. This laid the groundwork for later endeavours, notably in India. While separated by time and space, these British colonial experiences shared several important characteristics. Early modern Ireland provided the British with important guidelines and models for behaviour, many of which were later adopted in India. The manipulation of history in Ireland, the description of the Gaelic Irish in travel accounts and the application of the law as a tool of reform all provided valuable patterns for the ways in which the British structured their later empire in India.

This dissertation seeks to consider the colonial experiences of Britain in Ireland and India in a comparative context – to contrast their encounters with, and explorations of, early modern Ireland with the late seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Indian subcontinent. The early experience in Ireland helped shape the developing British belief in their own superiority, leading them to draw distinctions between themselves and other peoples. This laid the groundwork for later endeavours, notably in India. While separated by time and space, these British colonial experiences shared several important characteristics. Early modern Ireland provided the British with important guidelines and models for behaviour, many of which were later adopted in India. The manipulation of history in Ireland, the description of the Gaelic Irish in travel accounts and the application of the law as a tool of reform all provided valuable patterns for the ways in which the British structured their later empire in India.

Tentativas de se escrever uma história da literatura alemã no Brasil têm sido recorrentes desde o século XIX. Assumiram diversas formas, do estudo comparativo à antologia, da história autônoma ao ensaio, da história da literatura universal às listas canônicas. Foram consideradas na presente tese, recebendo ênfase as histórias autônomas, modalidade em que se produziram dez títulos entre 1936 e 1997. O interesse que tais histórias apresentam passa por diversos campos: a historiografia literária, o comparativismo e a tradução. Observou-se como os autores lidam com a importante questão de escrever história da literatura para estrangeiros e das realidades a serem consideradas na execução dessa tarefa. Desde o primeiro estudo aqui analisado houve interesse em colocar a literatura alemã em confronto com outras literaturas. Tal fato se tornou mais expresso nas primeiras histórias autônomas, que, apesar de deficientes, faziam referências ao Brasil e à sua literatura. A década de 1960 pode ser considerada um divisor no ensino de língua e literatura alemã no Brasil, bem como na historiografia brasileira da literatura alemã. Em uma polêmica entre historiadores da área, constatavam-se as deficiências das obras existentes, reivindicando-se outras que apresentassem a literatura alemã de um ponto de vista secular, objetivo e de bases científicas. Simultaneamente, começavam a ocorrer congressos de professores latinoamericanos de Germanística, em cujos relatos transparece o desejo de um ensino de língua e literatura voltado para a realidade do país de destino. Tais reivindicações assumiram, nas décadas seguintes, a forma da Germanística Intercultural, modo específico de comparativismo na área em questão. As histórias da literatura, no entanto, pouco uso fizeram dos princípios propugnados por essa corrente, ficando, em parte, presas a modelos historiográficos ultrapassados. Em meio a teorias que apontam para a construção da história e desconfiam da produção de qualquer relato da totalidade e em meio a grandes projetos historiográficos comparativos desenvolvidos em outros países, resta ao Brasil encontrar um caminho para produzir a sua primeira grande história da literatura alemã. / Attempts of writing a history of German literature for Brazil have been recurrent since the 19th century. They have taken several forms, from comparative study to anthology, from literary histories in book form to short essay, from histories of world literature to canonical lists. All these forms have been considered in the present doctoral thesis, special emphasis having been given to the histories in book form, ten titles of which could be traced between 1936 and 1997. The interest of such histories relates them to several fields: literary history writing, comparative literature and translation studies. Special attention was paid to how the authors deal with the relevant question of writing a literary history for non-natives and of the realities to be considered in the execution of such a task. From the first study analysed it becomes evident that there was an interest in confronting German literature with other literatures. The fact became more conspicuous in the first histories in book form; notwithstanding their deficiencies, they frequently referred to Brazil and its literature. The 1960s may be considered a turning point not only in the teaching of German and its literature in Brazil but in German literary history writing in Brazil as well. In a feud among historians the deficiencies of the existing works were exposed in the press, and a claim for new ones made itself heard. These should present German literature from a secular point of view, objectively and on a scientific basis. At the same time occurred the first meetings of Latin- American Germanists, whose reports evince their expectations towards language and literature teaching practices in which the realities of the target country are taken into consideration. In the following decades such claims took the form of Intercultural Germanistics, a specific mode of comparative studies in this area. Literary histories, however, did not exactly follow the principles proposed by that current; on the contrary, several of them remained attached to the models of the past. Between the extremes of theories that point at the construction of literary histories and suspect the validity of any attempt of producing narratives of totality and, opposing them, great projects of comparative literary history writing being developed in other countries, Brazil still faces the challenge of producing its first great history of German literature.

Bien qu’elle participe à une redéfinition de la pratique historiographique à l’Âge classique, l’œuvre historique de Voltaire a été peu étudiée. On s’est peu interrogé sur l’art de l’historien, et on a souvent résumé la conception de l’histoire et de la politique qui s’y exprime au rôle majeur joué par les « grands hommes ». Notre étude met à l’épreuve une telle conception et fait valoir la complexité de la lecture voltairienne de l’histoire, tant dans les ouvrages circonscrits à un règne que dans son histoire universelle, l’Essai sur les mœurs. Face aux apories des systèmes politiques élaborés par ses contemporains, et que Voltaire dénonce, l’écriture de l’histoire est le lieu privilégié où se déploie une conception réfléchie du pouvoir et des enjeux du politique. S’il est indéniable que Voltaire n’en propose pas de théorisation systématique, sa compréhension des ressorts du déroulement historique et l’interprétation qu’il en donne reposent sur un ensemble de principes relativement cohérents, tant du point de vue de l’appréciation des fondements du pouvoir – si importants au regard des enjeux de légitimation portés par l’écriture de l’histoire –, que de ses réalisations. L’œuvre historique ne s’intéresse ainsi pas seulement à l’action de quelques souverains ; elle prend aussi en compte l’action collective des peuples, et porte attention aux mutations des rapports de pouvoir qui infléchissent les politiques contemporaines. L’œuvre est alors en prise avec une actualité politique et polémique qui confère à l’écriture de l’histoire une tonalité spécifique, et qui conduit à s’interroger sur la délimitation même de ce qu’est le corpus voltairien des œuvres historiques. / Although the historical work of Voltaire takes part in a redefinition of Enlightenment historiography, the art of the historian or his conception of history have been little studied so far. His political view in his historical work has often been reduced to his praise of ‘great men’ and of their action in history. Our study puts this interpretation to the test and highlights the complexity of Voltaire’s reading of history, either in his works dealing with a single reign, or in his universal history, the Essay on the Manners. In order to face the shortcomings of the contemporary political systems, Voltaire uses history writing as a way to express considered conceptions of power and political issues. Voltaire does not expound a systematic theory of political facts; nonetheless, his understanding of historical progress relies on a coherent set of principles. Our study examines his appreciation of power and politics, of theirs foundations – where issues of legitimizing, so important in history writing, are at stake –, and of their achievements. The historical work does not exclusively focus on the action of a few monarchs; it takes also into account the collective action of peoples, and turns its attention to transformations which affect the balance of power and contemporary policies. Then, the work is in touch with current affairs and burning issues, which gives to history writing specific characteristics, and in particular a polemical tone. But it leads also to question the limits of his historical work as well as its definition.

Tentativas de se escrever uma história da literatura alemã no Brasil têm sido recorrentes desde o século XIX. Assumiram diversas formas, do estudo comparativo à antologia, da história autônoma ao ensaio, da história da literatura universal às listas canônicas. Foram consideradas na presente tese, recebendo ênfase as histórias autônomas, modalidade em que se produziram dez títulos entre 1936 e 1997. O interesse que tais histórias apresentam passa por diversos campos: a historiografia literária, o comparativismo e a tradução. Observou-se como os autores lidam com a importante questão de escrever história da literatura para estrangeiros e das realidades a serem consideradas na execução dessa tarefa. Desde o primeiro estudo aqui analisado houve interesse em colocar a literatura alemã em confronto com outras literaturas. Tal fato se tornou mais expresso nas primeiras histórias autônomas, que, apesar de deficientes, faziam referências ao Brasil e à sua literatura. A década de 1960 pode ser considerada um divisor no ensino de língua e literatura alemã no Brasil, bem como na historiografia brasileira da literatura alemã. Em uma polêmica entre historiadores da área, constatavam-se as deficiências das obras existentes, reivindicando-se outras que apresentassem a literatura alemã de um ponto de vista secular, objetivo e de bases científicas. Simultaneamente, começavam a ocorrer congressos de professores latinoamericanos de Germanística, em cujos relatos transparece o desejo de um ensino de língua e literatura voltado para a realidade do país de destino. Tais reivindicações assumiram, nas décadas seguintes, a forma da Germanística Intercultural, modo específico de comparativismo na área em questão. As histórias da literatura, no entanto, pouco uso fizeram dos princípios propugnados por essa corrente, ficando, em parte, presas a modelos historiográficos ultrapassados. Em meio a teorias que apontam para a construção da história e desconfiam da produção de qualquer relato da totalidade e em meio a grandes projetos historiográficos comparativos desenvolvidos em outros países, resta ao Brasil encontrar um caminho para produzir a sua primeira grande história da literatura alemã. / Attempts of writing a history of German literature for Brazil have been recurrent since the 19th century. They have taken several forms, from comparative study to anthology, from literary histories in book form to short essay, from histories of world literature to canonical lists. All these forms have been considered in the present doctoral thesis, special emphasis having been given to the histories in book form, ten titles of which could be traced between 1936 and 1997. The interest of such histories relates them to several fields: literary history writing, comparative literature and translation studies. Special attention was paid to how the authors deal with the relevant question of writing a literary history for non-natives and of the realities to be considered in the execution of such a task. From the first study analysed it becomes evident that there was an interest in confronting German literature with other literatures. The fact became more conspicuous in the first histories in book form; notwithstanding their deficiencies, they frequently referred to Brazil and its literature. The 1960s may be considered a turning point not only in the teaching of German and its literature in Brazil but in German literary history writing in Brazil as well. In a feud among historians the deficiencies of the existing works were exposed in the press, and a claim for new ones made itself heard. These should present German literature from a secular point of view, objectively and on a scientific basis. At the same time occurred the first meetings of Latin- American Germanists, whose reports evince their expectations towards language and literature teaching practices in which the realities of the target country are taken into consideration. In the following decades such claims took the form of Intercultural Germanistics, a specific mode of comparative studies in this area. Literary histories, however, did not exactly follow the principles proposed by that current; on the contrary, several of them remained attached to the models of the past. Between the extremes of theories that point at the construction of literary histories and suspect the validity of any attempt of producing narratives of totality and, opposing them, great projects of comparative literary history writing being developed in other countries, Brazil still faces the challenge of producing its first great history of German literature.

Tentativas de se escrever uma história da literatura alemã no Brasil têm sido recorrentes desde o século XIX. Assumiram diversas formas, do estudo comparativo à antologia, da história autônoma ao ensaio, da história da literatura universal às listas canônicas. Foram consideradas na presente tese, recebendo ênfase as histórias autônomas, modalidade em que se produziram dez títulos entre 1936 e 1997. O interesse que tais histórias apresentam passa por diversos campos: a historiografia literária, o comparativismo e a tradução. Observou-se como os autores lidam com a importante questão de escrever história da literatura para estrangeiros e das realidades a serem consideradas na execução dessa tarefa. Desde o primeiro estudo aqui analisado houve interesse em colocar a literatura alemã em confronto com outras literaturas. Tal fato se tornou mais expresso nas primeiras histórias autônomas, que, apesar de deficientes, faziam referências ao Brasil e à sua literatura. A década de 1960 pode ser considerada um divisor no ensino de língua e literatura alemã no Brasil, bem como na historiografia brasileira da literatura alemã. Em uma polêmica entre historiadores da área, constatavam-se as deficiências das obras existentes, reivindicando-se outras que apresentassem a literatura alemã de um ponto de vista secular, objetivo e de bases científicas. Simultaneamente, começavam a ocorrer congressos de professores latinoamericanos de Germanística, em cujos relatos transparece o desejo de um ensino de língua e literatura voltado para a realidade do país de destino. Tais reivindicações assumiram, nas décadas seguintes, a forma da Germanística Intercultural, modo específico de comparativismo na área em questão. As histórias da literatura, no entanto, pouco uso fizeram dos princípios propugnados por essa corrente, ficando, em parte, presas a modelos historiográficos ultrapassados. Em meio a teorias que apontam para a construção da história e desconfiam da produção de qualquer relato da totalidade e em meio a grandes projetos historiográficos comparativos desenvolvidos em outros países, resta ao Brasil encontrar um caminho para produzir a sua primeira grande história da literatura alemã. / Attempts of writing a history of German literature for Brazil have been recurrent since the 19th century. They have taken several forms, from comparative study to anthology, from literary histories in book form to short essay, from histories of world literature to canonical lists. All these forms have been considered in the present doctoral thesis, special emphasis having been given to the histories in book form, ten titles of which could be traced between 1936 and 1997. The interest of such histories relates them to several fields: literary history writing, comparative literature and translation studies. Special attention was paid to how the authors deal with the relevant question of writing a literary history for non-natives and of the realities to be considered in the execution of such a task. From the first study analysed it becomes evident that there was an interest in confronting German literature with other literatures. The fact became more conspicuous in the first histories in book form; notwithstanding their deficiencies, they frequently referred to Brazil and its literature. The 1960s may be considered a turning point not only in the teaching of German and its literature in Brazil but in German literary history writing in Brazil as well. In a feud among historians the deficiencies of the existing works were exposed in the press, and a claim for new ones made itself heard. These should present German literature from a secular point of view, objectively and on a scientific basis. At the same time occurred the first meetings of Latin- American Germanists, whose reports evince their expectations towards language and literature teaching practices in which the realities of the target country are taken into consideration. In the following decades such claims took the form of Intercultural Germanistics, a specific mode of comparative studies in this area. Literary histories, however, did not exactly follow the principles proposed by that current; on the contrary, several of them remained attached to the models of the past. Between the extremes of theories that point at the construction of literary histories and suspect the validity of any attempt of producing narratives of totality and, opposing them, great projects of comparative literary history writing being developed in other countries, Brazil still faces the challenge of producing its first great history of German literature.