ABSTRACT
Hailing the emergence of the CCCC, Charles Roberts, the first editor of its journal, explained, “we are no longer selling a pig in a poke; ours is an established organization, with annual meetings and an official publication” (“Editorial” 22). Here Roberts identified two key elements, a professional organization and a journal (CCC), necessary for the formation of a discipline. In so doing, he signaled the potential for rhetoric and composition to achieve that identity and status. John Gerber also hailed the formation of CCCC enthusiastically, observing that it “holds meetings, people at meetings get excited, talk among themselves, and develop their own jargon” (“CCCC Facts” 117). Gerber’s description points to the early social dimensions then building among those whose interests in rhetoric and composition brought them together.
