Posessed Individuals, Technology and the French Postmodern

The impact of French theory from Baudrillard and Barthes to Virilio, Lyotard, Deleuze and Guattari in the form of post-structuralism and postmodern theory has, Arthur Kroker argues, masked its true significance as an eloquent account of technology not as an object we can hold outside ourselves but an invasive cynical power, where under the sign of possessed individualism life is enfolded within the dynamic technological language of virtual reality.

Considered by some as enchanting as a fairy tale and in some ways as simple in its approach, George Eliot's Silas Marner extends well beyond such a sphere. The text focuses on the evils of religion and society, both of which ostracize those they do not understand. Study the novel through the work of some of the most respected critics on the subject.

During the past decade, advances in technology have provided many sophisticated tools to assist the investigator with the location and identification of human remains. Aircraft-mounted infrared detectors, ground penetrating radar, and electromagnetic sensors are just a few that can be used to identify potential gravesites. Each of these tools has limitations. Some are cumbersome and suitable for use in small areas. Graphing interpretation requires a high level of expertise, which may not be available. However, when they are combined with a cadaver dog they can be used very effectively.

Basic Writing

Framed by historic developments—from the Open Admissions movement of the 1960s and 1970s to the attacks on remediation that intensified in the 1990s and beyond, Basic Writing traces the arc of these large social and cultural forces as they have shaped and reshaped the field. George Otte and Rebecca Williams Mlynarczyk balance fidelity to the past with present relevance, local concerns with (presumptively) global knowledge, personal judgment with (apparent) objectivity.

Argument in Composition

Argument in Composition provides access to a wide range of resources that bear on the teaching of writing and argument. The ideas of major theorists of classical and contemporary rhetoric and argument—from Aristotle to Burke, Toulmin, and Perelman are explained and elaborated, especially as they inform pedagogies of argumentation and composition.