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TWO SIU PRESS PUBLICATIONS RECEIVE HIGHEST HONORS FROM ASSOCIATION OF TEACHERS OF ADVANCED COMPOSITION   Two Southern Illinois University Press books were recently named winners of prestigious awards in the field of rhetoric and composition. Literacy and Racial Justice: The Politics of Learning after Brown v. Board of Education by Catherine Prendergast, an associate of English professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, was named the winner of the 2003 W. Ross Winterowd for Best Book of the Year in Composition Theory. Defining Reality: Definitions and the Politics of Meaning by Edward Schiappa, a professor of communication at the University of Minnesota, received the Gary A. Olson Award for the Best Book in Rhetorical & Cultural Theory in 2003.   The Winterowd and Olson awards are administered by the Association of Teachers of Advanced Composition and JAC: Journal of Advanced Composition, which provide a forum for scholars interested in theoretical approaches to the study of rhetoric, writing, and multiple literacies. Nominations for these honors come from publishers, scholars, and teachers. Both books were published in 2003 by SIU Press as a part of the Press’s extensive and respected list of books pertaining to the study of rhetoric, composition, and literacy.   In commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision, Literacy and Racial Justice (224 pages, $25.00 paper, Oct 2003) defies the accepted wisdom that the Brown decision was an unambiguous victory for the betterment of race relations. Fulbright Scholar Prendergast utilizes insights from legal studies and literacy studies to interrogate contemporary multicultural literacy initiatives, finding that the ruling reinforced traditional conceptions of literacy as primarily white property to be controlled and disseminated by an empowered majority. She also offers a positive model for reimagining literacy instruction that is truly in the service of racial justice.   “This is an ambitious book that lives up to its promise,” writes Gloria Ladson-Billings in the Foreword. “It moves deftly between theory and practice and destabilizes many taken for granted notions of what it means to be a literate U.S. citizen. It unearths the privilege and arrogance of both the legal and educational establishments and promotes expansive thinking in both arenas. It is a breath of fresh air in what has been a very stale atmosphere.”   In Defining Reality: Definitions and the Politics of Meaning (224 pages, $25.00 paper, May 2003), Schiappa shows the act of defining to be a specialized and learned behavior, and therefore one that can be studied and improved. Through a series of case studies on definitional disputes about rape, euthanasia, abortion, and political and environmental issues, he fosters an understanding of how we make sense of the world through definitions and how we can most productively evaluate proposed definitions.   “[Defining Reality is] a terrific exploration of the importance of definitions in rhetoric and in law. In a thorough and well-written book, Edward Schiappa shows that many arguments, particularly in law, are really about how concepts are defined,” praises Erwin Chemerinsky, Sydney M. Irmas Professor of Public Interest Law, Legal Ethics, and Political Science at the University of Southern California.   Catherine Prendergast is an associate professor of English at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her articles have appeared in Harvard Educational Review, Written Communication, CCC, and JAC; and she is the recipient of the 1999 CCCC Richard Braddock Award for her article, “Race: The Absent Presence in Composition Studies.”   Edward Schiappa is the Paul W. Frenzel Chair of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota and a professor and the director of graduate studies in the Department of Communications Studies. A past editor of the journal Argumentation and Advocacy, he is the author of Protagoras and Logos: A Study in Greek Philosophy and Rhetoric and The Beginnings of Greek Rhetorical Theory.   These books, and many other award-winning and respected titles in the field of rhetoric and composition, are available from Southern Illinois University Press.     More marketing news