history

i'm reading several articles on the history of rhetoric and composition, and the split between speech departments and English departments over rhetoric. these articles are pointing out various histories and historical developments that ultimately led to the modern conception of the mandatory composition course. what is most interesting about them though is the idea that histories can be written so differently. that historians in liberal art fields can search the margins for those left out to tell their story to enrich our overall understanding of history. but most importantly that history is written based on the materials immediately available to the historian. if i have a different composition textbook from 1900 than you do, i've got an entirely different history to write about.