James A. Berlin (January 7, 1942 – February 2, 1994) was an American scholar, professor, writer, and theorist in the field of composition studies, renowned for his contributions to the history of rhetoric and composition theory.
Born in Hamtramck, Michigan, Berlin attended St. Florian High School.
Berlin was actively involved in a fellowship-in-residence, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), alongside notable figures in contemporary rhetorical theory, including Lisa Ede, Robert Inkster, Charles Kneupper, Linda Flower, Janice Lauer, and Victor Vitanza.
During this time, he collaborated with Richard Young on the topic of rhetorical invention.
Berlin's academic journey led him to deeply explore the works of Karl Marx, and he later integrated Göran Therborn's version of Marxist ideology into his research, finding in Therborn a comrade who recognized the power and function of rhetorical principles.
[2] Rhetorics, Poetics, and Cultures: Refiguring College English Studies.
Rhetoric and Reality: Writing Instruction in American Colleges.
Writing Instruction in Nineteenth-Century American Colleges.
"Poststructuralism, Cultural Studies, and the Composition Classroom."
Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1994.
"Revisionary Histories of Rhetoric: Politics, Power, and Plurality."
"Rhetoric and Poetics in the English Department: Our Nineteenth-Century Inheritance."
"Contemporary Composition: The Major Pedagogical Theories."