This dissertation describes a year-long ethnographic study of rural basic writers in the Missouri Ozarks. Using Richard Hofstadter's concept of \"anti-intellectualism\" as a theoretical lens, I explored the attitudes of students towards writing and academic culture. This exploration was conducted by means of questionnaires, interviews, writing samples, and several experimental courses.
Using all these data-collection mechanisms, I was able to identify three characteristics of these students. They were likely to demonstrate a dualistic (\"right/wrong\") epistemology. Accordingly, they expected their academic reading to make matter-of-fact truth claims. Finally, students were unlikely to understand the transformative nature of any educational enterprise, hoping instead to acquire discrete skills and knowledges that could be used to secure higher-paying, more stable employment.
In addition to describing the study, this dissertation proposes a curriculum for guiding similar students through their introductory writing courses. Following in the footsteps of James Paul Gee, David Bartholomae, Patricia Bizzell, and others, I argue that basic writers need to be introduced to academic discourse through a process of \"acculturation.\" Finally, I explore the ethical implications of both ethnographic classroom research and the acculturation of student groups.
","abstract_html":"<p>This dissertation describes a year-long ethnographic study of rural basic writers in the Missouri Ozarks. Using Richard Hofstadter's concept of "anti-intellectualism" as a theoretical lens, I explored the attitudes of students towards writing and academic culture. This exploration was conducted by means of questionnaires, interviews, writing samples, and several experimental courses.</p> <p>Using all these data-collection mechanisms, I was able to identify three characteristics of these students. They were likely to demonstrate a dualistic ("right/wrong") epistemology. Accordingly, they expected their academic reading to make matter-of-fact truth claims. Finally, students were unlikely to understand the transformative nature of any educational enterprise, hoping instead to acquire discrete skills and knowledges that could be used to secure higher-paying, more stable employment.</p> <p>In addition to describing the study, this dissertation proposes a curriculum for guiding similar students through their introductory writing courses. Following in the footsteps of James Paul Gee, David Bartholomae, Patricia Bizzell, and others, I argue that basic writers need to be introduced to academic discourse through a process of "acculturation." Finally, I explore the ethical implications of both ethnographic classroom research and the acculturation of student groups.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Griffith, Robert Andrew"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy in English (PhD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Jolliffe, David A.","Cochran, Robert"],"advisors":["Slattery, Patrick J."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2012-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:00:28Z","subjects":["Social sciences","Education","Composition","Developmental","Ethnography","Missouri","Ozarks","Rural education","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research","Higher Education"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/539","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Jolliffe, David A.","Cochran, Robert"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Slattery, Patrick J."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Griffith, Robert Andrew"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2012"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2017-09-29T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy in English (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Social sciences","Education","Composition","Developmental","Ethnography","Missouri","Ozarks","Rural education","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research","Higher Education"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/539"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This dissertation describes a year-long ethnographic study of rural basic writers in the Missouri Ozarks. Using Richard Hofstadter's concept of \"anti-intellectualism\" as a theoretical lens, I explored the attitudes of students towards writing and academic culture. This exploration was conducted by means of questionnaires, interviews, writing samples, and several experimental courses.
Using all these data-collection mechanisms, I was able to identify three characteristics of these students. They were likely to demonstrate a dualistic (\"right/wrong\") epistemology. Accordingly, they expected their academic reading to make matter-of-fact truth claims. Finally, students were unlikely to understand the transformative nature of any educational enterprise, hoping instead to acquire discrete skills and knowledges that could be used to secure higher-paying, more stable employment.
In addition to describing the study, this dissertation proposes a curriculum for guiding similar students through their introductory writing courses. Following in the footsteps of James Paul Gee, David Bartholomae, Patricia Bizzell, and others, I argue that basic writers need to be introduced to academic discourse through a process of \"acculturation.\" Finally, I explore the ethical implications of both ethnographic classroom research and the acculturation of student groups.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Wayfaring Strangers: A Case Study of Rural Developmental Writers in the Missouri Ozarks"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Jolliffe, David A.","Cochran, Robert"],"dc:contributor.advisor":["Slattery, Patrick J."],"dc:creator":["Griffith, Robert Andrew"],"dc:date":["2012"],"dc:date.available":["2017-09-29T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This dissertation describes a year-long ethnographic study of rural basic writers in the Missouri Ozarks. Using Richard Hofstadter's concept of \"anti-intellectualism\" as a theoretical lens, I explored the attitudes of students towards writing and academic culture. This exploration was conducted by means of questionnaires, interviews, writing samples, and several experimental courses.
Using all these data-collection mechanisms, I was able to identify three characteristics of these students. They were likely to demonstrate a dualistic (\"right/wrong\") epistemology. Accordingly, they expected their academic reading to make matter-of-fact truth claims. Finally, students were unlikely to understand the transformative nature of any educational enterprise, hoping instead to acquire discrete skills and knowledges that could be used to secure higher-paying, more stable employment.
In addition to describing the study, this dissertation proposes a curriculum for guiding similar students through their introductory writing courses. Following in the footsteps of James Paul Gee, David Bartholomae, Patricia Bizzell, and others, I argue that basic writers need to be introduced to academic discourse through a process of \"acculturation.\" Finally, I explore the ethical implications of both ethnographic classroom research and the acculturation of student groups.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/539"],"dc:subject":["Social sciences","Education","Composition","Developmental","Ethnography","Missouri","Ozarks","Rural education","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research","Higher Education"],"dc:title":["Wayfaring Strangers: A Case Study of Rural Developmental Writers in the Missouri Ozarks"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy in English (PhD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:00:28Z"}