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last.updated 11.29.11

 

Gendered Rhetorics

Purpose

 Like race and ethnicity, the lived experiences of individuals who identify as–or are marked as–women, gays, lesbians, transsexuals, and intersexuals, can shape the way these individuals come to knowledge and, consequently, the strategies they use to persuade. Likewise these issues of gender can also limit how persuasive their audiences find them. Throughout class we will examine what a gendered rhetoric adds to our understanding rhetoric and how it can inform our composition classroom practices.

Before Class

Workshop–Discourse Communities

Cheri, Mathieu, Wil & Catrina will lead a workshop on discourse communities

Freewrite – Applying Butler

First, in your own words, what is Butler's argument. Then go into Butler's theory and pull out a quote that you think modern composition instructors should apply when designing their classroom practices. Reference the quote and explain the connection.

Discussion – Gender & Diversity

  • What questions, comments and/or concerns do you have about the readings for this week?
  • What issues seem to be most important to those who write about gendered rhetorics? How are these similar and different than the rhetorics about race, ethnicity, and language that we read about last class?
  • How do we help create spaces within academic discourse for students' diversity? How do we create spaces within academic discourse for our own diversity? Should the latter even be part of the classroom discourse?
  • What is Butler's argument? How can it be relevant to the writing classroom? Is it hyperbolic to apply her theory to the ways many instructors in FYC and across the campus treat students who do not write in standard academic English?

Class Activity – Building Pedagogy Upon Rhetorics of Diversity

Over the last two weeks we have looked at issues of diversity and rhetoric. We have done this mostly through a postmodern lens that encourages us to see diversity as an opportunity rather than obstacle. But how exactly do we design these opportunities. As a class we will begin to outline a writing course that will allow us to turn these rhetorical theories into practice. Questions that will guide our design will be...

  • What are the overall goals of the course?
  • What will the assignment sequences look like?
  • Choosing one of these assignments, what are the unit's goals? what will the unit look like?
  • What daily activities leading up to this assignment will we design to acheive our goals?