Posts by Ashley:
- I know Foss, Foss, and Trapp chose to capitalize the initial letters in hooks’ name “in situations in which any word not usually capitalized would be capitalized” (294), but after several interactions with people who have also chosen not to capitalize their names, I’ve realized the significance of that choice, and have chosen to recognize that by not capitalizing her name in any situation.
I also know that hooks does not use footnotes “because she believes that footnotes set class boundaries for readers, determining who a book is for” (281), and therefore, if I subscribe to her beliefs that I shouldn’t either, but this seemed too long an intervention to put it in parenthesis. ↩
Where were the Mexicans?
April 7th, 2010We started our Civil Rights unit in my English 3 class on Monday. This is a pretty typical English class for the junior year of high school; we read pieces of American literature and follow a curriculum that moves chronologically throughout United States history. This is so us English 3 teachers can work with the U.S. History teachers to create meaningful, interdisciplinary lessons. It actually works pretty well, and saves me from doing a lot of historical background before we start each unit, freeing me up to do more English-y things, except when you take into account the often difficult language and “unrelatablity” of many early American authors. (I know, many of us may have had an English literature breakthrough reading Emerson and Thoreau, but our students do not feel the same way. Trust me.) Part of this “unrelatability” also comes from the fact that almost all of these authors that are frequently taught through history (until the Harlem Renaissance writing of the 1920’s, or maybe The Narrative of the LIfe of Frederick Douglass in the Civil War era) are white.
Amy and Cathy both wrote earlier about the “dead white guys,” and I’m not saying that they are not an important part of English literature and United States history. I’m just saying that, when we teach the literature written by the “dead white guys,” and reserve the literature written by African-Americans, for example, for units that stand alone in the curriculum instead of incorporating that literature into each unit, we’re really saying to our students: “Well, sure, African-Americans were around then, but what they were doing isn’t worth studying right now.” Which is why I love Ileana’s idea of using slave narratives and spirituals to teach Beloved. How can we ignore the spirituals and slave narratives when we teach about colonial America, for example? We can’t, and we shouldn’t.
So I started this year’s Civil Rights unit with a new direction, and I was totally excited about it. I was planning on extending the typical Civil Rights unit past the 1960’s and into the 1970’s to talk about feminism and women’s rights of that time. After all, feminism is part of the fight for civil rights, right? I began Monday with this idea in mind (and I still think it’s a pretty good one; besides, I can’t talk about the 70’s without talking about feminism just a little bit) and with the general purpose of weaving together the narratives of all oppressed people in the United States during this tumultuous time. I was introducing the lesson with a PowerPoint presentation complete with YouTube videos and stuff that I really thought would grab the students’ attention when a student in every single class would raise his/her hand with a question. When I called on that student, he or she inevitably said: “Miss, where were the Mexicans while this was going on?”
Read the rest of this entry “
Comments Off on Where were the Mexicans?
I Hate Being Wrong
April 7th, 2010Tim is going to read that title and laugh and then throw it in my face that I finally admitted it. But, really, I hate being wrong. And I hate it especially when that wrongness hurts someone else.
There is a lot to be said about language, and, most importantly about language, in my humble opinion, is the fact that it has such power to motivate, inspire, direct, and – yes – hurt people. As an English major, a writer, and a blogger, I feel I’ve been entrusted with this power and I must wield it carefully.
Honestly, there are a lot of things I avoid saying on here because I fear offending someone, or I am afraid I’ll say it the wrong way. I feel comfortable blogging about women’s rights because, hey, I am a woman, so if I say something about feminism and women’s rights, it must be OK, right? But what if I say something wrong about something I don’t really have any experience with, or what if I say something offensive or use an offensive word and don’t realize it? The truth is that I should know better, but I do slip up. Or sometimes I don’t know better, and people assume that since I write in this civil rights blogosphere that I should, and get angry with me when I had no clue a term or phrase was offensive.
This is also very often the reason I avoid commenting on blogs. The pressure to “say it right” in someone else’s sphere is so intense sometimes that it’s difficult to formulate a complete thought, let alone a coherent comment that doesn’t derail the discussion. So, often, I don’t comment at all.
I guess I’m sharing this because it’s been bothering me lately. I feel like the purpose of the feminist blogosphere should be to educate, and in order to educate people, one should be insistent that we “say it right” but, also, should be a patient teacher. I feel like we should be able to say what we have to say and, if something is said in an offensive way, we should trust that those offended will come to us privately and explain to us why we should edit what we wrote or change our writing practices in the future. And, on the other side, the people who wrote the offensive word or phrase should be open to the criticism and try their best to change.
Any thoughts?
Guest Posts and Book Clubs!
April 5th, 2010Over at Equality101.net, we have some super exciting things happening, so be sure to check them out!
First, we’re hosting a monthly book club! So join in!
Summer is fast approaching, and here at Equality 101, we thought it might be a good idea to start an education-related book club to stay well-versed and generate more discussion in education-related topics over the summer and well into the school year!
So that’s exactly what we’re doing! Every month, we’ll read a book that will be chosen based on a poll of the members. We may read books that have to do with education, books and memoirs written by educators, novels our teen students may be reading, books that might be beneficial to teach or reference in the classroom… anything! Some of us may review the book here on the blog, and we will have an open thread on the blog toward the end of the month for everyone to post their thoughts on the book!
Sound like fun? Of course it does! So join up! You can join the Goodreads group to get started, and when you do, be sure to take the poll to help decide our first book! This month will be a short month, as our book will be selected by April 9, and then at the end of April, we’ll post the open discussion. In the last week of April, we’ll vote for May’s book.
Want to get involved but don’t have a Goodreads account? E-mail ashley@equality101.net or leave a comment here and we’ll get you in on the action!
Second, we’re looking for guest posters, and would love to have you on board!
Are you an educator or a student? Do you have something to say about equality and education? Equality 101 is looking for guest bloggers, and you’re invited to participate!
We publish short articles about, broadly, equality in education. We’ve covered topics such as feminism, gender studies, trans activism, and racism, all through the lens of education with the goal of making our schools more equal and equitable for our students and ourselves. We respond to the news, discuss our thoughts, ask questions, post lesson plans,curricula and activities, book reviews, and much more. And we want you to be involved!
If you’re interested in writing a guest post (or a guest series!) for Equality 101, please get in contact with Lacey, our guest post coordinator, by emailing her at lacey@equality101.net. You can send her a pitch, an article, some ideas, or any of your questions, and she will work with you to get your writing on the blog. We’re open to cross-posting, as well, if you write for another blog.
We look forward to seeing your writing on our site! Happy teaching!
Comments Off on Guest Posts and Book Clubs!
Sunday Recommended Reading
April 4th, 2010I’ve been bad about tweeting and blogging about good articles and blog posts to you all this year – particularly in the past month – and for that I apologize. Between trying to get Equality101.net off the ground, writing a thesis, giving up coffee, and trying to untangle my brain from the theory of rhetoric, I’ve frequently been left without words. Literally. No words left. Which is also why I haven’t been posting a whole lot here, either. But that will all change very soon! My classes end on May 19, and then I am totally and completely finished with grad school. (Does a little happy dance.)
So, where was I? Oh yea, I’ve been a bad feminist blogger lately, and it’s time for me to make amends. What follows is, what I hope to be, a more regular feature on this blog… some recommended reading! Some of this stuff goes back to February and early March, but it’s all still good and relevant, so check it out! And don’t forget to leave what you’ve been reading and writing in the comments!
From Amanda at The Undomestic Goddess:
Twitter Chat Recap: Violence Against Women
Last night I participated in a Girl’s Night Out Twitter chat aimed to raise awareness to end domestic violence for women worldwide. It was hosted by Jyl Johnson Pattee of the blog MomItForward (on Twitter @MomItForward), and as Avon recently made a grant of $1.5 million to the Avon Center for Women and Justice to help combat violence against women internationally, they partnered up to help spread information and incite action. There were over 40 participants – take a look here to check out some of the names. The chat addressed topics such as teen dating violence, resources for domestic violence victims, human trafficking, and how to educate men to end violence against women. While the talk didn’t focus so much on international issues, it nonetheless raised important awareness about this harrowing experience that surrounds us on a daily basis. Below are some choice tweets from the chat (tweets are my own unless another user is specified; note: #vaw = Violence Against Women, #dv = Domestic Violence). To follow the entire conversation on Twitter, see here.
Five Social Media-Savvy Women in Politics
An interesting trend coinciding with more and more women in more powerful government positions is the burgeoning of social media as a communications tool between politicians and their respective constituencies. The following is a short list of powerful women in politics with a strong web presence who’ve availed themselves of new technology to reach out to the people they represent in revolutionary ways. Each politician’s name links to their Twitter profile.
From Criss at Criss Writes:
Working Wives are bad for Hero Husbands
You see, according to Dr. Laura, when women work outside the home, they lose respect for their husbands. Because the MAN is supposed to be the PROTECTOR, the HERO. And how can Freddy be a hero if I’m out there working, just like he is?
Hello. My name is Criss, and I’m privileged.
So, yeah, I have lots of privilege. I am aware of some of it, and I try to stay aware of it.
Having privilege doesn’t make me evil, though, nor does it mean my opinions are not valid. It means I have a limited view of things, and I need to watch it to make sure I don’t stick my privileged foot in my privileged mouth.
It doesn’t mean I don’t have a right to speak about certain things, even if, egads, you disagree with me. The fact that I have not lived that particular situation my own very self does not mean I am wholly ignorant of it; I may not be an expert, I may not be able to speak from personal experience, but I may have taken the time to listen to someone who has lived through that experience. And if that person isn’t there at that particular point in time, and that point of view needs to be shared, then I have a right — and many would say a responsibility — to speak up.
From Danine at danine.net:
Women’s (Disability) History Month: Dorothea Lange
While Lange’s work is famous, not much is known about her personal life. She had a difficult childhood. She contracted polio when she was seven, leaving her with an obvious limp. The neighborhood children shunned her and even her mother acted embarrassed by her “crippled” child. Lange’s father left the family when she was 12 years old.
Our disability frightens people. They don’t want to think that is something which could happen to them. So we become separated from our common humanity, treated as fundamentally different and alien. Having put up clear barriers between us and them, non- disabled people further they hide their fear and discomfort by turning us into objects of pity, comforting themselves by their own kindness and generosity. (Morris 1991: 192)
From Gender Across Borders:
I enjoy fashion and makeup; I’m still a feminist, right?
The more and more I learn about feminism, I realize (that many of you probably know) that there is no one definition of feminism. My definition of feminism might be different from yours–and that’s okay. More specifically, though, in terms of fashion and beauty, as long as I’ve understood the historical and societal implications of beauty and fashion and how they’ve shaped how women are “supposed” to look, then it’s more than okay for me to wear heels.
Many women see forgiveness as a means of survival; they need to forgive in order to get to the day-to-day business of caring for children, finding food for their families, and rebuilding their communities. I think it is important to acknowledge and emulate women’s capacity for forgiveness, yet it is equally as important to not over-simplify it.
From Ileana at Feminist Teacher:
“I constantly innovate my teaching”: Jaime Escalante Dies, Vision Endures
It wasn’t until seventh grade that I had an inspiring and challenging Latina teacher for my honors history class. I always strove for an A and always came up with an A-. Even the students rallied behind me and said,”Why don’t you give Ileana an A?” She would always say: “There’s room for improvement!” I strove and strove and finally got that A at the end of the year. I wanted to impress her not only because she was my teacher but also because she was one of my own.
From Womanist Musings:
I feel the need to say that blogging is hard work. I know it may simply seem like bloggers are living the life of Riley, but I am here to tell you first hand, that some days my stress level is incredibly high. From the hate mail, to the drive to always find interesting subjects to write about, each day brings a lot of stress. This is not to say that I don’t like what I do, but that it is very unrecognized and often filled with conflict.
I know that people believe that because there are ads on my blog, that I am making a significant amount of money, but don’t let that fool you. Advertisement does not come close to offering me equitable reward for what I do. Like many women before me, I have had to find separate ways to finance my urge to communicate and explore this world through the written word.
From the New York Times:
But this panic is a hoax. We have examined every major index of crime on which the authorities rely. None show a recent increase in girls’ violence; in fact, every reliable measure shows that violence by girls has been plummeting for years. Major offenses like murder and robbery by girls are at their lowest levels in four decades. Fights, weapons possession, assaults and violent injuries by and toward girls have been plunging for at least a decade.
The Next Big Thing in English: Knowing They Know That You Know
Jonathan Gottschall, who has written extensively about using evolutionary theory to explain fiction, said “it’s a new moment of hope” in an era when everyone is talking about “the death of the humanities.” To Mr. Gottschall a scientific approach can rescue literature departments from the malaise that has embraced them over the last decade and a half. Zealous enthusiasm for the politically charged and frequently arcane theories that energized departments in the 1970s, ’80s and early ’90s — Marxism, structuralism, psychoanalysis — has faded. Since then a new generation of scholars have been casting about for The Next Big Thing.
From The Curvature on Tumblr:
I didn’t stop saying “lame” or any other word like it because I had a light bulb moment and realized the social connections between the different meanings of the word, and how there really is a reason that “lame” doesn’t just mean bad but uniquely and pathetically bad, when people with disabilities are so commonly portrayed as pathetic. In the end, I’m not entirely sure that it matters when or even if I started believing that. Because it’s not why I stopped.
I stopped because I didn’t want to hurt people. I stopped because I didn’t want to engage in what I claim to advocate against. I stopped because people told me that it was doing them harm when I did it, and because it hurt me to realize that that hadn’t initially been enough. I stopped saying the word because I realized that it was enough.
From Dorianisms:
Look, the bottom line is this. It is undeniable fact that 15% of undergrads drop out. Or at least I assume my prof would not actively stoop to lying about statistics, so we’ll take it as true for the moment. If this is the case, shouldn’t we be looking at the reasons for that? Don’t judge those who drop out–they have reasons to do so. Let’s focus on improving the university environment so that it works for all students. Lower fees so people can afford to take their time. Change structure so people who don’t fit into the current model can function. Accommodate. It’s the only way.
And don’t forget! There’s still time to donate to my Avon Walk for Breast Cancer AND to RSVP for the #chifems April Tweetup!
Comments Off on Sunday Recommended Reading
Master Teachers and Subject Degrees
March 31st, 2010Yesterday, Indiana changed their certification rule for teachers. This rule states that teachers must have a degree in their subject area, not in education, in order to teach.
I’m unsure how I feel about this. After I graduate from grad school in May (!!!) I will have two degrees in my subject area – the first, from my undergrad, in English Literature with a specialization in Creative Writing and the second, from my grad school, in English Studies. I did this on purpose. Before undergrad started, I knew I wanted to be a teacher, but I really wanted a degree in English just in case I decided to do something different, and I chose my school accordingly. I also felt that a degree in English would help me be a better English teacher. I’d know more about literature and writing and would come up with some great ideas for teaching the subject in the classroom. I did the same with my graduate program. I chose it based on the ability to have a degree in English while still teaching full time and having classes in which I could talk about my job, but could also talk about English.
Honestly, having my degree in English has helped me more than I probably know, but I was fortunate to also have really, really good education classes for my certification, so I’m not sure which helped me more. They probably both work together in my brain – which is sort of the idea, right – but I wonder what would have happened if my education classes were totally useless or were just there for people who wanted certification and, therefore, not taken too seriously.
Read the rest of this entry “
Thesis update
March 30th, 2010For those of you who have been following the thesis debacle, I am ALMOST FINISHED with this thesis. The light is at the end of the tunnel, so to speak. I’ve been busy staying away from my computer for a while – catching up on books, poking around other cool internet sites, shopping, hanging out with friends and family – so I haven’t been as in to blogging on here as I’d like to be, but as with all things, rejuvenating breaks are necessary to do a good job. So, after I present my thesis to the class on Monday, I should be back and ready to go!
For now, check out some of the work I’ve been doing on my thesis here.
Comments Off on Thesis update
Enlightened Sexism: A Book Review
March 24th, 2010
image via Goodreads
A few weeks ago, I received my very first review copy of a book in the mail, and you can imagine my excitement! The book was Enlightened Sexism by Susan J. Douglas, which only heightened my desire to get started on the book, because there had been some serious buzz about it around my Goodreads and Twitter communities. So I dove right in, and, I have to say, was both pleased and disappointed with the book in its entirety.
The entire premise behind the book was that sexism is institutionalized so much that we don’t even notice it anymore. Not only do we not notice it, but we are sent mixed messages all the time, telling us that the feminist struggle is over. I had no problem with this claim, as we’ve often talked about “the f-word” (feminism) and why we need to say loud and proud that we are feminists. I mean, this is the “I’m not a feminist…but” theory we’ve been talking about on here for a long time – and it was nice to see a published work tackling the subject. However, as I was reading, I found myself having more problems than praise for certain aspects of the book, which seriously turned me off to the arguments at hand.
First, I don’t often enjoy overtly sarcastic texts, and that’s just a personal preference. I do enjoy sarcasm, but when it’s used tastefully and in doses – like the sarcasm used by you lovely feminist bloggers – but an entire book of it is a little much. Also, when sarcasm is written down as opposed to stated, especially in an academic text, I have trouble deciphering which statements are meant as jokes or overt sarcasm and which are meant as legitimate evidence to a claim.
Which brings me to my next problem: sweeping generalizations. I hate sweeping generalizations, and when those sweeping generalizations are made as sarcastic remarks, I hate them even more. This book was filled with sweeping generalizations. For example, the entire chapter titled “Warrior Women in Thongs” was all about how we started seeing more strong women on television like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Xena, Warrior Princess, but that these women were still expected to look cute. I’m not denying the power that media has over women and dictating body image, but the chapter turned into a sort of indictment of women who want to look cute – saying more or less that women who wear high heels or short skirts are bad feminists. I took issue with this as a feminist who enjoys wearing high heels myself. Feminism is all about choice! And if we don’t feel pressured by the media to wear the heels – if we legitimately like wearing heels (I know, weird, right? But I truly do!) – then why shouldn’t I just because I’m a feminist. A Funny Feminist had a great post up about feminism and body image recently that plays well into this argument, so go read it.
I think the problem I had with this chapter, as well as “The New Girliness” is that the media does not equal real life, and Douglas’ intended audience knows that. Yes, there is pressure out there, but I don’t think anyone looks at the television and says “Hey, this show is EXACTLY like my life!” Parts, yes, but the whole? I don’t think so. So, when arguing that television tells us that women are totally in charge and on top of the corporate world, we can’t really look at that and say “OK, feminism is over, we don’t need it any more” because there is a serious disconnect between television and real life. At least, I hope most people would notice that. “The New Girliness” continued, then, to set up feminism and girliness as binaries – complete opposites that were mutually exclusive, and I do not agree with that claim. I think positing that sort of attitude is what pushes young girls away from feminism in the first place. It shouldn’t be some exclusive club that you are only allowed access to if you aren’t “girly.” Even using the term “girly” as an anti-feminst thing is troublesome to people who don’t identify as “girls” and also feel rejected by the predominantly white, upper-to-middle class feminism that has pervaded the movement. But that’s another post for another time…
Another sweeping generalization I had a problem with was, well, the entire chapter titled “You Go, Girl.” It started with the quote on page 127: “We all instantly recognize Black Speak for what it is: way cool insider talk” and went downhill from there. I’m not saying that white people shouldn’t talk about race and language (I do… here’s an example), but it seems that this type of sarcastic comment just sets the conversation up as offensive, and I believe that’s exactly what happened.
The last sweeping generalization I took issue with in the chapter “Lean and Mean” was the pervasive idea that all size 0 girls are mean girls that deprive themselves of food. It is this kind of generalization that made it so hard for me to admit my size in the first place. Obviously, since my wedding dress is a size 2, I have starved myself to fit into it and am also a bridezilla. That’s right, people, these implications carry on well past high school and movies scripted by Tina Fey. Does the media pressure us to be thin and conventionally beautiful? Absolutely. Does being thin mean you’re anorexic and mean (and why is anorexic equated with mean in this chapter, anyway? One has nothing to do with the other, in my opinion)? Absolutely not, and I think that is an important distinction to make when discussing this topic. And I don’t believe Douglas did.
There were some great points and good information in this book, though, aside from the sweeping generalizations I discussed above. It is important to look at pop culture as a historical spectrum, and this book does tackle that very well. Douglas provides her audience with summaries of what was going on in the news, on television, and in music during the time periods she discusses, which gives the audience a very wide range in order to understand why various subjects hit American culture when they did, and also gives us a good idea as to how we got where we are now with feminism and women’s rights. The history of women in the media is something every feminist pop culture blogger should have a handle on before diving into a critique of modern day culture, and for that, this book is an excellent resource.
Other reviews you may be interested in:
Viva la Feminista
Gender Across Borders
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=5715843f-e05b-4a37-9942-4ef0c6fd115e)
What Dictates How You Teach?
March 24th, 2010With all the talk about differentiated instruction and student onus for learning in our district right now, it’s starting to seem like we’re trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Don’t get me wrong; I think differentiated instruction is a super great initiative and one that should be followed. In fact, when I started learning about differentiated instruction, it just gave me a name (and some legitimacy) to what I had been doing all along. I also think it is really important to try to reach each student at his/her level and use their diverse interests and backgrounds to create interesting and dynamic lessons.
However, I feel that some teachers just want to be given templates for lessons or projects that they can fill in for their needs and say that they’re following the latest initiative. Even I, at first, was so used to being handed templates for lessons (CRISS training, anyone?) that I expected the same from this initiative. Instead, as a district, we’re learning about differentiated instruction instead of plugging lessons into pre-planned templates. And this is great, because there should be many factors to successful teaching, not simple project templates that get the job done.
This all got me to thinking: What dictates how you teach? For me, personally, my focus seems to be on student interest and level of engagement. The subject (literature or writing process, in my case as an English teacher) does not serve much purpose except that I must choose something that will be interesting to my students. After that, it seems that I must focus on lessons that get my students up and out of their seats, talking, moving, and thinking critically. For others, however, the focus may be on the subject, which may dictate a different method of teaching.
Read the rest of this entry “
Comments Off on What Dictates How You Teach?
Avon Walk for Breast Cancer 2010
March 23rd, 2010
Image via Wikipedia
I will very rarely use this blog as venue for soliciting money from you all, but what better place to inform you of my charity of choice than here? Why, it’s even a VERY feminist cause: The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer!
This year will be my 6th 39.3-mile walk and my 6th time raising at least $1,800 for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. I am totally committed to this cause, and I truly believe in it. This money goes to fund not only research, but to help underprivileged women who need both treatment and preventative care all over the nation.
If you enjoy reading this blog, you know that I have never asked you for a cent to keep this thing going, so please, PLEASE consider donating to this cause.
You can donate directly to my personal site by going here, or you can submit money to my paypal account (samsanator[at]gmail[dot]com) and I’ll apply it to my fundraising goal.
Comments Off on Avon Walk for Breast Cancer 2010
“Activism”: A Follow-Up
March 19th, 2010Remember that teacher I was talking about here? The latest I heard is that he is finishing up the year, but not recommended for tenure and not coming back next year.
Honestly, I don’t know enough about the situation from an administrative standpoint to make any intelligent comments about this decision, and I really don’t think that a Facebook page made by some former students helped make that decision, either.
However, I remain disappointed in those who participated in this. You think you can put up a page and have it for a while and then take it down and poof, it’s gone. Well, that isn’t the case, and the sooner this is learned, the better. All those pictures on your profile pages? All that stuff you write that you think no one reads? It doesn’t go away. And with the new privacy policy, Facebook retains the right to use that stuff, too. What was done has implications beyond your reach, and all I’m asking is that you realize that and think about it the next time you’re angry about something.
I know several of my students were upset by my post, and will be upset about this post, too. I’ve heard from a few of them. Some of them are angry that I would “choose the teacher’s side.” Let me be clear: when it comes to a person’s rights and life, I will always be on the side of the person. No matter the crime, every person has the right to feel safe and be granted a fair “trial” or whatever you want to call this, and, especially, not to have hateful things said about him or her on the Internet.
“Activism” Can Ruin Lives
March 17th, 2010‘hooked’ on Rhetoric
March 17th, 2010This is part of a series of posts about rhetoric and feminism. In fact, this is my last formal response for class! (The light is at the end of the tunnel!)
It is probably no surprise to you that I love bell hooks. I have criticized her before for preaching the importance of using the vernacular you are comfortable with while using almost inaccessible, academic language herself, and, granted, I do love her mostly in small doses (reading an essay or two is interesting, but a whole book tends to be a little much), but I agree with her intersectional views of feminism and the importance of including other forms of oppression into social activism (and this is a major theme in my capstone project).
It was incredibly interesting to read her as a rhetorical theorist rather than a feminist theorist, although I see her theories as more in the realm of linguistics than rhetoric. She seems more concerned with the language being used by the rhetor than any other part of rhetoric. I suppose in this way, she is similar to I.A. Richards in that the words being used and the meaning behind them seem to be the most important element of rhetoric to both of them. However, whereas Richards’ focus was on the audience’s reaction to the words being used, hooks discusses the meaning of the words for the rhetor him/herself. For the first time, it seems, we’re seeing a rhetorical theorist discuss the experiences of the rhetor, not the audience. Perhaps, then, we could say hooks’ focus is on invention; as Foss, Foss, and Trapp say in their article about her:
[h]ooks proposes two primary ways in which marginalized rhetors can use rhetoric to challenge and transform the ideology of domination – critique and invention. Critique is the development of an oppositional perspective that moves against and beyond boundaries. Opposition in the form of critique, however, is insufficient to accomplish decolonization… This requires the invention of alternative habits – of presenting possibilities for a transformed future. (275)
hooks’ 1 concept of invention is different than the classical rhetoricians, however, in that it requires the rhetor to invent “alternative habits” to transform the way people think and act out oppression of all forms. It almost seems as if hooks is echoing Quintilian with this by saying that rhetoric should only work for good – in this case, good being the work for human rights. To quote Foss, Foss, and Trapp: “To arrive at a more humane world, hooks asks that rhetors ‘be willing to courageously surrender participation’ in coercive hierarchical domination” (279).
It is fascinating how many of the participants in my capstone project subscribed to hooks’ concept of intersectional feminism, and how they work through their past experiences with human rights issues – whether witnessing or experiencing (or both) violations of human rights – to create pieces of writing (rhetoric) that try to persuade people towards creating a “more humane world.” Every participant in my interviews mentioned the importance of feminism, not only to end the oppression against women, but against all people, no matter what the form of oppression. In this way, rhetoric becomes a very powerful tool in the fight for civil rights, and works to both persuade and inform the world how to live in such a way that does not oppress people. However, for the bloggers and, I believe, for hooks herself, rhetoric is only part of the equation. The rhetor can work to inform and persuade an audience about civil rights and how to work towards a better world, but then the rhetor must actually live in that way him/herself. Talking the talk, according to hooks and my participants, is only part of walking the walk towards civil rights.
Work Cited
Foss, Sonja K., Karen A. Foss, and Robert Trapp. “bell hooks” Contemporary Perspectives on Rhetoric. Long Grove, Illinois: Waveland Press, Inc., 2002. 265-298.
We Still Aren’t Teaching Enough Women Writers
March 17th, 2010I wrote last week about a lesson I have taught using “The Yellow Wallpaper,” a great story by a great woman writer. In an effort to reach more of my female students this year, I’ve been trying to incorporate more stories and books with strong female characters, and to highlight female characters in books more. However, I’m still seeing an upsetting trend: We aren’t teaching enough women writers.
Sure, “Eveline” by James Joyce or “The Chrysanthemums” by John Steinbeck both have interesting female main characters, but there seems to be a difference between the women characters in these stories and women characters in stories written by men. And don’t even get me started on the women in The Great Gatsby or Catcher in the Rye! (Although I love those books and enjoy teaching them, the women While fascinating, these women characters written by men still seem to fall short of what it truly means to be a woman. The women in these stories and books are either choosing between which man to eventually settle down with or are not worth the men’s time or, even worse, it seems, are held up as the epitome of purity and integrity. Women in stories such as “The Yellow Wallpaper” are complex and intriguing in a different way; they seem more real in a way.
I know I haven’t done this topic justice, and I anticipate blogging much more about it in the future with some ideas for texts to teach as well as accompanying lessons, but what are your favorite women characters by women writers? What do you think is a must-see in any classroom?
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=b7259ae7-8f5d-4536-abb6-daa0a0d26c78)
Being an Activist Every Day
March 15th, 2010A little while ago, I wrote a few posts about teaching everyday activism to my sophomores. (here and here) For that lesson, I used an article from Gender Across Borders about Miep Gies. The second-to-last paragraph in this article reads:
I wonder how the world would respond to Gies’ actions today. Much has changed in the way social justice advocates promote their causes. Today, activism is loud and intentional. Often, activism is misguided and misses the point. And though there are countless activists engaging in critical social justice work — work that they truly care about — activism today isn’t necessarily challenging. One can organize marches, distribute petitions, facilitate dialogues, and even blog about justice and oppression — all of these things are valuable to activism. But all of these things can also be put away at the end of the day, or forgotten about during a week when other life stresses take priority. Hiding families in one’s attic can never be ignored. If Miep Gies had set aside her activist efforts for even a moment, the people she was protecting would have been placed in immediate danger. (emphasis mine)
I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately, and about how there have been times that I’ve taken a break from blogging or gone on a much-needed vacation or shifted my focus to something that needs to get done right away. I sometimes think about myself and my needs before those of others (For example, I am not waiting to get married until everyone has the right, although I’m unconvinced that waiting to get married until everyone has the right would be activism; more on that later). But does that mean I can just turn off my activism?
If there has been anything that I’ve learned from the participants in my feminist blogging interview, it has been that you cannot turn off the feminism. It permeates everything you do and see, and even if your posts are not overtly feminist or political in nature, they are still a part of feminist activism because the lens does not go away. And just writing using that lens as a way to critique the world is activism.
So, isn’t just living my life as a feminist and as a feminist role-model activism? I can’t turn it off! Being a feminist is in my being, in my soul. I can’t even watch shows or listen to music anymore without thinking about the feminist implications of it, and I usually can’t even stop the comments about it from coming out of my mouth anymore. Sure, it isn’t Miep Gies style activism, but it is still activism every day that is, it seems, impossible to walk away from. Maybe I’m walking away from my blogging for a few days at a time, but I don’t walk away from the way I live my life. I can’t. And I bet you can’t either. (Shoot. I can’t even get my picture taken without analyzing the situation.)
I’m not trying to say that what we’re doing is as grand a gesture as Miep Gies. It isn’t. But how many of us have been called upon to do something that huge? And who is to say we wouldn’t if we could? The point is that, like Miep Gies, we are also not walking away from our activism, ever. Just in a different way.
Tumblr, Take 2
March 14th, 2010So, if you were following me on Tumblr, you’re going to have to go in and follow me again. There were some funny and strange things going on, so I switched URLs and have a new account. I mean, it’s the same URL but it is actually a new account. Oh, I don’t need to explain all of this; it’ll only get more and more confusing! Just follow me again from this URL: http://samsanator.tumblr.com. I know, I know. It looks the same. Trust me, it’s not. Follow again! Please!
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=7e16c6f7-476c-4e37-895c-6531aa2b2462)
Comments Off on Tumblr, Take 2
You’re right. I don’t know you.
March 11th, 2010This is a cross-post from Equality 101.
You know those days when everything just lines up perfectly and all your synapses start firing and things just connect? Yesterday was one of those days. It started with Adam’s thought-provoking post from yesterday and a conversation that keeps reoccurring with my students, continued during my grad class last night, and a conversation with Tim afterwards.
When I ask my students what they want to see from a teacher – and I do this often, whether because I sense the need that they need to talk, or because it fits in with a lesson we’re doing, or because they volunteer the information – they always start by saying that good teachers understand them.
I might be bold in including myself in the “good teacher” category, but I must ask a pressing question: Do we, as good teachers, really understand our students? I mean really understand them.
Most teachers were students that could stand – maybe even enjoyed – going to school. If we didn’t, there’s no way we would have moved on to get the college education required for a teaching certificate. We are the ones who could afford that college education in the first place, and if we couldn’t afford it, we had the means and resources to take out loans. We are the ones that want to instill our passion for learning into our students. We are the ones who had a passion for learning instilled in us in the first place.
Let’s face it: we are probably much more privileged than most of our students. I, for one, grew up in an entirely different situation than most of the students in my classes. Growing up, I experienced all sorts of privilege: white privilege, thin privilege, socioeconomic privilege… heck, I even had both parents living with me through high school. The list can go on and on, but just by growing up in a different place during a different generation in a different situation, I experienced life in an entirely different way than my students. So when they come in wanting to talk about their problems and issues and lives, the truth is that I can’t even come close to understanding.
I can sympathize, but I don’t think they want my pity. I can listen, which might be all they need, but they might need more. I can care, which I do – probably more than they know. But, honestly, I can’t understand.
I’m not saying that Adam’s student’s disposition after the incident excuses him from talking back to a teacher unnecessarily; we still need to hold our students to the highest expectations regarding academics and behavior. But I am saying that we could go a long way to acknowledge the fact that most of us truly don’t know our students, although we do our best to try to reach them, inspire them, educate them, and care about them.
Comments Off on You’re right. I don’t know you.
You’re right. I don’t know you.
March 11th, 2010You know those days when everything just lines up perfectly and all your synapses start firing and things just connect? Yesterday was one of those days. It started with Adam’s thought-provoking post from yesterday and a conversation that keeps reoccurring with my students, continued during my grad class last night, and a conversation with Tim afterwards.
When I ask my students what they want to see from a teacher – and I do this often, whether because I sense the need that they need to talk, or because it fits in with a lesson we’re doing, or because they volunteer the information – they always start by saying that good teachers understand them.
I might be bold in including myself in the “good teacher” category, but I must ask a pressing question: Do we, as good teachers, really understand our students? I mean really understand them.
Read the rest of this entry “
Comments Off on You’re right. I don’t know you.
Literacy AND Rhetoric in the Feminist Blogging Community!
March 10th, 2010This is part of a series of posts about rhetoric and feminism. I’ll be writing these responses every week as part of my graduate class about Topics in Rhetoric this semester, and I welcome any and all responses!
I’m reading Kenneth Burke’s idea of Dramatism correctly, it seems he is subscribing to Shakespeare’s idea that “All the world’s a stage,” and that rhetors are merely actors responding to situations. As Foss, Foss, and Trapp discuss, Burke believed that motivation could be found by analyzing any given rhetorical situation using a dramatic pentad consisting of five terms: act, agent, agency, scene, and purpose (Contemporary Perspectives 200). They state: “Motives and language are so closely associated that an analysis of a rhetorical artifact can point to a rhetor’s underlying motives” and suggest that Burke’s pentad is a mode of analysis of a rhetorical situation that will help find the motivation behind a situation. Burke himself says: “These five terms… have been labeled the dramatistic pentad; the aim of calling attention to them in this way is to show how the functions which they designate operate in the imputing of motives” (Readings 160-161). It seems, as his essay on dramatism continues, that he disagrees with Aristotle, who had been quoted as saying that human action is like sheer motion and, therefore, they can be ignorant of these five elements in the pentad; Burke continues on to refute this by saying that symbol-using animals, like humans, have motivation behind their actions and, therefore, are not participating in sheer motion.
This mention of symbols seems in line with what I.A. Richards spoke of in his essay, “The Philosophy of Rhetoric,” when he discussed the semantic triangle. However, Burke seems less concerned with symbols, objects, and implied meaning and more in line with the Sophists (and Lloyd F. Bitzer, for that matter) and their focus on kairos or exigence. Kairos and exigence were defined as the immediate need for any rhetorical situation, and Burke’s idea of motivation seems closest in line with these two terms.
The idea of the dramatic pentad and motivation are particularly interesting to me, as I just finished writing a draft of my capstone project analyzing interviews from bloggers according to Szwed’s five elements of a literacy event: texts, contexts, participants, functions, and motivations. It seems that Szwed’s version is very similar to Burke’s, where texts are the scenes, contexts are either the agency or scene, participants are the agents themselves, and the function is the purpose. As Foss, Foss, and Trapp state: “Purpose is not synonymous with motive. Motive is the much broader, often unconscious reason for the performance of the act” (Contemporary Perspectives 202). With Szwed, as well, the function and motivation are very different; function is equivalent with purpose, and motivation is the broader reason for the bloggers’ writing and inspiration. As I was analyzing the bloggers’ responses, I noticed that the function and motivation often overlapped – they were writing to inform the world about feminist issues and values, and were motivated by the desire to inform the world about feminist issues and values. It was clear, however, that each participant was motivated by personal factors; some wanted to be funny feminists, others wanted to carve out a space for themselves, etc.
If I were to have used Burke’s pentad to analyze the responses, I imagine the results would have been very similar. The act in this rhetorical situation would most likely be blogging. The scene would be very difficult to define because the nature of the internet is such that there is no one scene, per se, but many blogs, each being their own scene. The agents in this case might be the feminist bloggers, or each individual blogger would be a single agent in any rhetorical situation, so the agency would be the use of computers and blogging platforms to compose posts and publish them, as well as the use of social networking to promote the blogs. Finally, the purpose of the feminist bloggers would be to inform the world about feminist issues. The bloggers are, then, motivated by a desire to inform the world about feminism, as well as by their own personal motivations.
Although not much changes when using Burke’s analysis, it is interesting to note how similar literacy theorists and rhetorical theorists truly are!
Works Cited
Foss, Sonja K., Karen A. Foss, and Robert Trapp. “Kenneth Burke” Contemporary Perspectives on Rhetoric. Long Grove, Illinois: Waveland Press, Inc., 2002. 187-232.
Burke, Kenneth. “Dramatism” Sonja K. Foss, Karen A. Foss, and Robert Trapp, ed. Readings in Contemporary Rhetoric. Long Grove, Illinois: Waveland Press, Inc., 2002. 160-170.
Comments Off on Literacy AND Rhetoric in the Feminist Blogging Community!
Tumblr
March 9th, 2010OK. I joined Tumblr. Because I don’t have enough to do.
I don’t know how long I’ll keep this up or what it will turn into, but go ahead and follow me and we shall see.
Comments Off on Tumblr
Title IX and #BlogforIWD
March 8th, 2010As a teacher, I do not believe that each student should be treated exactly the same.
This might seem like a shocking statement to you, especially from a blog titled Equality 101, but hear me out. I absolutely believe that each student should have access to the same opportunities, and I believe wholeheartedly that each student should be given the opportunity to succeed. But I do not believe that each student should be treated exactly the same. Each student should not be given the exact same assignment as another student every time an assignment is given. Each student should not be given the exact same reading material as another student every time reading is assigned. And each student should not be given the exact same punishment every time punishment is required.
To me, equal rights for all in education does not mean each student should be treated the same. It rather means that each student should be treated equitably (not necessarily equally): Each student should be given the ability to learn in the best way possible for him or her; Each student should be given every opportunity to grow and succeed and foster interests and lifelong learning; Each student should be given a punishment fitting the behavior and the student; Each student should be given equal and equitable access to every available program.
Read the rest of this entry “
Comments Off on Title IX and #BlogforIWD