Dec. 9, 1997 Contact Pauline Austin (541) 346-3129 EUGENE--The Modern Language Association of America (MLA) has awarded its 17th annual Mina P. Shaughnessy Prize to University of Oregon professor James Crosswhite for his book "The Rhetoric of Reason: Writing and the Attractions of Argument." The MLA, the world's largest organization of scholars of language and literature, awards the Shaughnessy Prize annually to the outstanding research publication in the field of teaching English language and literature. Crosswhite, a UO associate professor of English, has published numerous articles and reviews in scholarly journals and has presented papers at international meetings and conferences. In the book, Crosswhite argues that learning to write a reasonable argument should be the core of a college education. The book offers a reminder to those who have lost faith in the ability of people to reach reasonable mutual agreements, that argument is a dialogue. Argument, he says, is a response to changing situations--an exchange that involves persuading, listening and understanding. The citation for the prize reads, in part, "James Crosswhite's `Rhetoric of Reason' seeks to establish theoretical and practical processes whereby one can investigate and intervene in conflict. The book is applicable not only to writing but to all areas of general education." Before coming to Oregon in 1981, Crosswhite taught at the University of California, San Diego, the institution from which he received his doctorate in philosophy. He earned his bachelor of arts degree, also in philosophy, at the University of California, Santa Cruz. The MLA Executive Council established the Mina P. Shaughnessy Prize in 1979 as a memorial to one of the most widely respected scholars and teachers in the field of writing. First presented in 1980, the prize is awarded under the support of the MLA's Committee on Honors and Awards. The prize consists of a check in the amount of $500, a certificate and a year's membership in the association. -30- #G-6033-A/Local,A&E