Kapper authors chapter on second language writing

“Mapping Post-Secondary Classifications and Second Language Writing Research in the United States,” written by Jessie Kapper, appears in the recently published edited collection, The Politics of Second Language Writing: In Search of the Promised Land (Parlor Press, 2006).

Kapper’s chapter examines the geographic distribution of scholarship in the field of second language writing, noting that post-secondary institutional classifications are better predictors of the locations of second language writing research in the United States than are the geographical distributions of second language writers (international students and scholars, K-12 English language learners, etc.). Kapper suggests that the influences of Carnegie classifications and institutional expectations for faculty result in underrepresentation of many contexts for second language writing. Kapper concludes by calling on scholars to expand the scope of second language writing research by developing collaborative partnerships across educational settings.

Jessie Kapper is an assistant professor of professional writing and rhetoric in the Department of English.