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Albert R. Kitzhaber

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Dr. Albert R. Kitzhaber, Ph.D
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From Ohio University English Department website:

Albert R. Kitzhaber completed a BA in English at Coe College in 1939. He went to Washington State College as a teaching fellow in English and earned an MA there in 1941 before going to Iowa State as an instructor. He resigned from his position at Iowa to enter a 26 week Intensive Russian course at the University of Iowa which he then followed with military service until the end of WWII in 1945. Kitzhaber saw that in order to study in the field he would have to work on his doctorate, so he began study at Washington State in 1948 where the influential Porter Perrin was teaching graduate level courses in rhetoric despite opposition. Kitzhaber earned a degree with a specialization in Rhetoric and Composition, which was rare for the time. His most influential work is his 1953 dissertation entitled Rhetoric in American Colleges, 1850-1900. There are two reasons why his work is considered as one of the most influential pieces quoted among rhetoricians: 1. It was the first book-length study of the field; 2. His researched helped make the shift in Rhetoric and Composition in the 1960s. Kitzhaber’s work influenced James Berlin, Donald Stewart, Robert Connors, Stephen North, and many others. Kitzhaber does not look at a feminist critique of the field, but he did criticize the “forms of discourse”.

In 1963, a number of influential talks were given about the field, including those given by Kitzhaber who spoke about ways in which Freshman English could be improved by looking at other fields and placing emphasis on research. In 1963, Kitzhaber also published Themes, Theories, and Therapy: The Teaching of Writing in College which was a survey of Freshman English courses in a variety of institutions (including Dartmouth) which called for a reform of the course. In an attempt to re-work the field, Kitzhaber was chosen to direct one of the Curriculum study centers and decided on the University of Oregon. Therefore, in the 1960s, Kitzhaber was among those that were not only calling for reform but were bringing it about.

A list of his published works includes the following: A Bibliography on Rhetoric in American Colleges, 1850-1900; Education for College: Improving the High School Curriculum (Robert M. Gorrell and Paul Roberts); Themes, Theories, and Therapy: The Teaching of Writing in College; Handbook for Basic Composition (with Donald W. Lee); The Oregon Curriculum: A Sequential Program in English, grades 7-12 (general editor); Spectrum of English (coordinating editor)

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