Domain:  A territory over which rule or control is exercised. 2. A sphere of activity, concern, or function; a field: the domain of history.

Welcome to my domain, a place dedicated to multiple interests, such as history and genealogy, food and travel, film and drama, culture and literature, all of which are connected here by my interest in writing about writing: composition and rhetoric. Texts reflect the writers’ choices, intentional or not.  My intent is to explore a number of subjects that interest me, which may also interest others–all are welcome here. I don’t use the term “writing about writing” as it’s used in some college writing courses;  I use it to discuss rhetorical relationships between genre, purpose, and audience–in or out of academia.

Film/Literature/Culture  I taught high school English and French for a year, and college level History for about five years, but since 2008, my primary field has been English–Rhet/Comp and American Literature.  My doctoral course work, like the content of this blog, was very much “all around the house”:  film, drama, creative writing, composition, European history, and American literature.  Recently, I’ve become interested in new forms of literature, and my students have questioned literary theories/practices that treat literature as static.  Using Aristotelian theory, they have explored the possibility that graphic novels, video games, and even some songs are literary.  My posts share the bias of Terry Eagleton:  literature changes as cultures change.

Food/CaneriverCooks Before the last visit to grad school, I owned and operated a restaurant and B & B.  Where did that come from?  I used to think of that part of my life as a random piece in a crazy quilt, but now I see that it was much more than that, and not so crazy–just really, really hard work.  If I ever get a twinge of nostalgia about the restaurant, I watch Mostly Martha, a well-written antidote. For years I have promised my daughter I would gather together some recipes we used in the restaurant.  Maybe this site will lure me into beginning.  In any case, writing about food and film provide clear examples of shifting rhetorical choices.

History/Genealogy (France) I love history.  Genealogy is history that happened to real people (characters), and it took us to France.  Food, wine, and language helped a bit.  Genealogy isn’t fiction, but it is fertile ground for fictional narrative.  The first “character” in our family history appears in sources from the  11th century.  I am intriqued by the search for Pierre Colerio.  His wife died, he made a bequest to the church, and then he disappeared.  As I searched documents available online, I found someone with a different version of that name listed in the Domesday Book. These people were affected by the Norman invasion, Joan of Arc, the Black Death, the Crusades, the Hundred Years War, and the French Revolution!  Incredible!  As I searched the medieval monastery entries and the later translations of those Latin entries, I realized that rhetorical analysis is relevant even here, in genealogical searches.  I had to question the texts: are the sources credible and verifiable? Who are the authors, and who are they writing to/for?

Writing/Research/Rhetoric This section presents thoughts on communicating effectively and includes videos and classroom material from several textbooks, tweaked and used in my literature and composition courses.  This section also reminds me to practice what I teach.