Works
Books, articles, and chapters authored or co-authored by Thomas Kent, from his 1980 PhD dissertation through his final publications.
12 works
Toward a Theory of Genre: Generic Deformation in Late Nineteenth Century American Prose Fiction
Thomas Kent — Purdue University
Kent's doctoral dissertation at Purdue University. Develops a theory of genre through the concept of 'generic deformation' in late 19th-century American prose fiction, examining how genre conventions are transformed and subverted.
Interpretation and Genre: The Role of Generic Perception in the Study of Narrative Texts
Thomas Kent — Bucknell University Press / Associated University Presses
Kent's first published book, a revised version of his PhD dissertation. Applies information-theory paradigms to the conventions of dime novels and traces their transmutations in classic texts by Mark Twain and Stephen Crane.
Beyond System: The Rhetoric of Paralogy
Thomas Kent — College English, vol. 51, pp. 492–507
Foundational journal article introducing Kent's concept of paralogy as an alternative to systematic approaches to rhetoric, drawing on Lyotard and Davidson.
Paralogic Hermeneutics and the Possibilities of Rhetoric
Thomas Kent — Rhetoric Review, vol. 8, no. 1
Early formulation of Kent's paralogic account of rhetoric; describes communication as hermeneutic guessing rather than rule-following. Foundation for the 1993 book.
On the Very Idea of a Discourse Community
Thomas Kent — College Composition and Communication, vol. 42, no. 4, pp. 425–445
Challenges the concept of discourse communities by drawing on Davidson's critique of conceptual schemes. Argues that writing cannot be explained by community-internal rules or conventions.
Paralogic Rhetoric: A Theory of Communicative Interaction
Thomas Kent — Bucknell University Press / Associated University Presses
Major primary monograph; develops communicative interaction from Davidsonian triangulation, hermeneutic guesswork, anti-systematic rhetoric, and critique of codified writing process. Winner of the 1995 CCCC Outstanding Book Award. Draws on Davidson, Rorty, Derrida, Lyotard, and Bakhtin.
Interdisciplinary Research and Disciplinary Toleration: A Reply to Kitty Locker
Thomas Kent — Journal of Business Communication, vol. 31, no. 2, pp. 153–155
Argues for interdisciplinary openness in business and technical communication scholarship, advocating for cross-disciplinary rhetorical inquiry.
The Consequences of Theory for the Practice of Writing
Thomas Kent — Publishing in Rhetoric and Composition (ed. Gary A. Olson & Todd W. Taylor, SUNY Press)
Explores the relationship between postprocess theoretical commitments and practical writing instruction, extending Kent's argument about the limits of codifiable pedagogy.
Post-Process Theory: Beyond the Writing-Process Paradigm
Thomas Kent, ed. — Southern Illinois University Press
Canonical edited collection naming and consolidating postprocess theory. Contributors include Nancy Blyler, Barbara Couture, Sidney Dobrin, Joseph Petraglia, Gary Olson, David Russell, and others. Frequently cited as the field-defining source for the 'postprocess' turn.
Paralogic Rhetoric: An Overview
Thomas Kent — Rhetoric and Composition as Intellectual Work (ed. Gary A. Olson)
Condenses Kent's paralogic/postprocess claims, including the limits of teachable systems and the situated nature of discourse production.
The Private, the Public, and the Published: Reconciling Private Lives and Public Rhetoric
Barbara Couture & Thomas Kent, eds. — Utah State University Press
Co-edited collection exploring the tensions between private experience and public discourse; extends postprocess commitments into questions of privacy, publicity, and rhetorical agency.
The 'Remapping' of Professional Writing
Thomas Kent — Journal of Business and Technical Communication, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 12–14
Reflects on the evolution of professional writing as a field, published during Kent's tenure as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Western Michigan University.