Bruce McComiskey – författare

Discovered in 1947, the Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of ancient Israelite documents, many of which were written by a Jewish sectarian community at Qumran living in self-exile from the priesthood of the Second Temple. This first book-length study of the rhetoric of these texts illustrates how the Essenes employed different rhetorics over time as they struggled to understand God’s word and their mission to their people, who seemed to have turned away from God and his purposes.Applying methods of rhetorical analysis to six substantive texts—Miqṣat Maʿaśeh ha-Torah, Rule of the Community, Damascus Document, Purification Rules, Temple Scroll, and Habakkuk Pesher—Bruce McComiskey traces the Essenes’ use of rhetorical strategies based on identification, dissociation, entitlement, and interpretation. Through his analysis, McComiskey uncovers a unique, fascinating story of an ancient religious community that had sought to reintegrate into Temple life but, dejected, instead established itself as the new covenant people of God for this world, only to turn ultimately to a trust in a metaphysical afterlife.Presenting forms of ancient Jewish rhetoric largely uninfluenced by classical rhetoric, this book broadens our understanding of human and religious rhetorical practice, even as it provides new insight into the events that led to the emergence of the Talmudic period. Rhetoric and the Dead Sea Scrolls will be useful to scholars working in the fields of religious rhetoric, Jewish studies, and early Christianity.

Discovered in 1947, the Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of ancient Israelite documents, many of which were written by a Jewish sectarian community at Qumran living in self-exile from the priesthood of the Second Temple. This first book-length study of the rhetoric of these texts illustrates how the Essenes employed different rhetorics over time as they struggled to understand God’s word and their mission to their people, who seemed to have turned away from God and his purposes.Applying methods of rhetorical analysis to six substantive texts—Miqṣat Maʿaśeh ha-Torah, Rule of the Community, Damascus Document, Purification Rules, Temple Scroll, and Habakkuk Pesher—Bruce McComiskey traces the Essenes’ use of rhetorical strategies based on identification, dissociation, entitlement, and interpretation. Through his analysis, McComiskey uncovers a unique, fascinating story of an ancient religious community that had sought to reintegrate into Temple life but, dejected, instead established itself as the new covenant people of God for this world, only to turn ultimately to a trust in a metaphysical afterlife.Presenting forms of ancient Jewish rhetoric largely uninfluenced by classical rhetoric, this book broadens our understanding of human and religious rhetorical practice, even as it provides new insight into the events that led to the emergence of the Talmudic period. Rhetoric and the Dead Sea Scrolls will be useful to scholars working in the fields of religious rhetoric, Jewish studies, and early Christianity.

In this sequel to English Studies: An Introduction to the Discipline(s), editor Bruce McComiskey and contributors from a range of disciplines propose seven principles to reimagine English studies for increased relevance in an increasingly diverse and globalized world.

While social values outside of academia are changing from nationalism to globalization, much of English studies remains entrenched in nationalist discourses. 

From literature and theory to linguistics, writing, and rhetoric, English Studies Reimagined argues that English studies must shift from a limited national orientation to a more global and cosmopolitan one in order to remain culturally and academically relevant to students today.

McComiskey introduces seven principles to reimagine English Studies for increased relevance: 

Conceive the discipline as a processSeek differenceExpand what counts as literaturePromote adaptive practicesValue technologyEmbrace collaborationTake a public turn

Each chapter explores a different discipline within English studies from the perspective of difference: linguistics by Jacquelyn Rahman, rhetoric and composition by Victor Villanueva, creative writing by Sarah Sandman, literature and literary criticism by Richard C. Taylor, critical theory and cultural studies by Jeffrey J. Williams, and English education by Tonya B. Perry. All play vital and distinct but interrelated roles in this proposed shift toward a globally oriented English studies.

An exploration of the diverse ways that writing is taught in some unique urban settings.This is the first full-length collection in composition studies to tell the story of teaching and writing in urban universities in cities such as Birmingham, Pittsburgh, Chicago, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Atlanta, and Detroit. Bruce McComiskey and Cynthia Ryan visit the fascinating history of various urban universities to illustrate how specific writing programs and instructors have engaged in the changing missions and priorities of their institutions.The authors address the complex interwoven components of city comp: the identities of individuals and institutions that contribute to the writing of verbal, visual, and spatial texts; the spaces that serve as resources for student writing, analysis, and critique; and the curriculum practices implemented in programs that attempt to help students recognize, and in some cases, transform their understandings of the cities in which they live, learn, and compose.

An exploration of the diverse ways that writing is taught in some unique urban settings.This is the first full-length collection in composition studies to tell the story of teaching and writing in urban universities in cities such as Birmingham, Pittsburgh, Chicago, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Atlanta, and Detroit. Bruce McComiskey and Cynthia Ryan visit the fascinating history of various urban universities to illustrate how specific writing programs and instructors have engaged in the changing missions and priorities of their institutions.The authors address the complex interwoven components of city comp: the identities of individuals and institutions that contribute to the writing of verbal, visual, and spatial texts; the spaces that serve as resources for student writing, analysis, and critique; and the curriculum practices implemented in programs that attempt to help students recognize, and in some cases, transform their understandings of the cities in which they live, learn, and compose.