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The Syllabus as a Vehicle for Academic Colonialsm

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The Syllabus as a Vehicle for Academic Colonialsm

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Introduction

The central question of this essay is: Can the Syllabus be an agent

of colonialism by serving as a vehicle for censorship,

indoctrination, and an inhibitor of intellectual freedom? We

believe it can.
The syllabus represents a triggering agent for instructional dissent. The syllabus, any syllabus, is never free of bias; it is always an idiocritical agent of the instructor even when the instructor makes every effort to keep the syllabus bias-free. From this perspective, let us openly consider this question: can a syllabus be an agent of censorship in what we learn and an inhibitor of intellectual freedom in that process despite its seemingly innocent function as a guide in that process?

What is often missing in a syllabus is the point of view or bias of the instructor anent the topic or subject of the class and its content. To further complicate this matter, the instructor might not even be aware of their own biases. Engaging in anti-racist pedagogies and theories begins to expose these sometimes unconscious biases. By default of their biases, however unconscious, some students will be excluded from the curricular focus without little regard for who they are and their own socio-material and cultural positionality.

IE: There is an unconscious bias in statements like, "These are the classics, and that's why we read them." It's Shakespeare, one of the greatest literary figures of all time. Or, "These are Greco-Roman traditions, these are the greatest traditions of philosophical thought." Well, these types of biases have consequences and they are embedded in exclusive (read racist)epistemological traditions. So, while the bias might be implicit (not punishable by law* or coloblind), the result is explicit and material. One begins to paint a mental picture that does not include them in it: doubt, lack of pride, lack of purpose, lack of history, etc...lack of rationality (read: crazy or dysfunctional/emotional). This implicit biases also contribute to systemic racism.

This approach is grounded in critical race theory in that in considers civil rights law:

IE*Title VI of the Civil Rights Act 1964. "No person in the United States shall, on the grounds of race, color, national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance."

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The Syllabus, a vehicle for academic colonialism? The Colonial Syllabus in Literature and First Year Composition

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The Syllabus, a vehicle for academic colonialism? The Colonial Syllabus in Literature and First Year Composition

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What do all of these colors mean?

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1htRbzMjLeVp8uSv7x2dtNrK2l3skNIMcY7W3Peq9kOw/edit?usp=sharing

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Waves of Feminism as a Critical Framework to Understand Oppression

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Waves of Feminism as a Critical Framework to Understand Oppression

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Design by Soli Rachwal
The greatest challenge to understanding feminism may be the fact that the ideology and philosophy informing it has shifted over time, creating separate "waves" of feminism . Additionally, not every wave has a distinct time frame, rather each wave is better defined by its goals and mechanisms than a period in time.

There are three traditionally recognized waves of feminism focused respectively on politics, culture and academia . There is also an emerging fourth wave of feminism that is less universally recognized and focused on technology.

The first wave of feminism began in the mid-19th century, primarily in Britain and the United States, and was centered around women's suffrage - the right to vote. In Europe, women's enfranchisement spread quickly, starting with the British colony of New Zealand in 1893. This wave of feminism concentrated on suffrage until the start of World War I in 1914, when many women's rights activists shifted their support to the war effort.

In the United States , campaigns for women's suffrage began during the abolitionist movement. In fact, supporters of the Declaration of Sentiments were abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass - a self-taught, runaway slave and political activist - and Sojourner Truth - a Black feminist who presented her famous "Ain't I a Woman?" speech at the 1851 Women's Convention. The Declaration of Sentiments was the document created at the Seneca Falls Convention which advocated for women's innate rights as outlined in the Declaration of Independence.

over the Fifteenth Amendment which outlined who could vote in the United States eventually led the abolitionists and suffragettes to diverge. In fact, the suffragettes created the separate National American Woman Suffrage Association in 1890. Their basic argument was that they didn't want "inferior" Black men to "rule over" white women. Susan B. Anthony famously and crudely said " I will cut off this right arm of mine before I will ever work or demand the ballot for the Negro and not the woman."

Eventually, first wave feminism in America culminated in the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920, securing women's right to vote. However, the vast majority of women in this movement were white, which accounts for their racist rhetoric and unwillingness to include women of color in the vote.

Women's participation in World War II and the Civil Rights Movement were precursors to the second wave of feminism which occurred during the 1960s and 70s. This wave of feminism is defined by its dedication to social and economic justice. First wave feminism was primarily dedicated to politics, but second wave feminism encouraged women to fight for equality in all aspects of society, including the household. Simone de Beauvoir's "The Second Sex" and Betty Friedan's were two seminal books that influenced this feminist ideology. "The Feminine Mystique"

By the 1960's, the women's movement began to split into two groups : equal rights feminists and radical feminists. The former wanted equality in the workplace and home, while the latter was dedicated to a more radical shift in patriarchal society. Equal rights feminists sought policies like anti-discrimination laws in the job market, whereas radical feminists looked past policies and sought to deconstruct gender roles and start a literal feminist revolution.

In 1969, the National Organization for Women organized the Congress to Unite Women in an attempt to reconcile the differences, but neither side understood one another. For example, radical feminists like Adrienne Rich were outraged that equal rights feminists did not recognize lesbian existence. Furthermore, there was a huge gap in age, class, and race between the two groups. Equal rights feminists were primarily older, white women, whereas radical feminists were more diverse, though they were primarily white as well.

Second wave feminists did, however, succeed in some ways. A few important wins were the job opportunities created through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission , the increase in divorce rights, the growing number of women running for political office, the passage of , and the which legalized abortion. Additionally, second wave feminism led to a change in attitudes about the role of women in society, so they were able to work outside the home and their gender roles.

However, the successes of the second wave did not account for all women, and daughters of second-wavers realized that this "women's rights movement" did not acknowledge non-white, lower class women. Thus, the third wave of feminism began in the mid-1990s as a reaction to the failures of second wave feminism.

There were three main differences between the two waves. First, third wave feminism was influenced by academic criticism such as postmodernism and queer theory . This meant that third wave feminists were more aware of their use of language and compliance with gender constructs, leading to a centralizing of queer and other identities outside of the cisgender, heterosexual norm. For example, third wave feminism empowered trans individuals who were ignored by most feminists up until this point.

Secondly, third wave feminism aims to be intersectional . Intersectionality examines the interconnected structure of society that includes race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and other defining characteristics. It critiques the different experiences of intersecting identities like being a Black woman versus a white woman, acknowledging that the former faces a more complicated form of oppression than the latter. Intersectional feminism is key to the third wave because it acknowledges the limited world views of previous white, middle class, and heteronormative waves.

Lastly, third wave feminism reclaims traditionally sexist images and redefines what it means to be a "woman." Plays like Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues" push words like "vagina" into popular culture. Icons like Madonna and Queen Latifah sought to display that women could be domineering and powerful rather than shy and passive. In fact, the third wave is also referred to as "grrrl feminism" because it empowers women to define their own beauty rather than be objects of men's desire.

However, "Vagina Monologues" promotes the idea that being a women is equivalent to having a vagina, which invalidates trans identities. Some third-wavers are adamant about this definition of "woman" which only benefits cisgender women, but stifles trans rights. Critiques like this have led to the rise of fourth wave feminism.

Fourth wave feminism is not commonly classified as separate from the third wave because they share many similarities. It from the previous wave, though, because it prioritizes making feminist critique in public discourse through public spaces and social media . Body positivity movements, sexual assault awareness and are all examples of how the fourth wave catapults feminism into the public spotlight through the hands of non-academics.

Some believe the most defining aspect of the fourth wave is how it utilizes the internet and social media, creating a culture where feminists concentrate on micropolitics and everyday rhetoric online. An example of this would be the the #metoo campaign , which employs hashtag activism to spread awareness of feminist issues.

We must acknowledge the preceding waves of feminism that are built from earlier women's accomplishments in order to better understand where feminism lies today and where the future of feminism is heading.

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Feminism 101: What are the Waves of Feminism?

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Design by Soli Rachwal The greatest challenge to understanding feminism may be the fact that the ideology and philosophy informing it has shifted over time, creating separate "waves" of feminism . Additionally, not every wave has a distinct time frame, rather each wave is better defined by its goals and mechanisms than a period in time.

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A History of Western Feminism...in 101 Seconds

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Knowledge Punk proudly presents...A History of Western Feminism in 101 Seconds. Although often radically different in terms of their methods and specific goals, in general the term feminism relates to the movement to obtain increased legal, social and political rights for women. The history of the modern western feminist movements is usually divided into three so-called "waves".

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Intersectionality in FYC Digital Courses (some key concepts)

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Intersectionality in FYC Digital Courses (some key concepts)

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In courses that ask students to consider how race plays a factor in social problems, it is important to provide them with the language in which to questions and think critically about assumed single-issue oppressions such as income inequality or police brutality. In my class (FYC and ADV COMP), we discuss the 3 waves of feminism, leading to WOC roles and intersectionality as a concept (look to the right for video link).

In  Comp/Rhet, scholars have discussed the history of the field for a long time and  continue to revise this history to be more inclusive.

Additionally, the field has taken an interest in various aspects of material studies, although this is not a new area of study just an expanded interest recently.

Although the field addresses some historical and material methods and studies, there is still work to be done to reclaim stories of those who have been erased by dominant histories and narratives.

In  order to understand the significance of our contribution of these critical methods to the field, we briefly discuss room for inclusion in the existing scholarship.

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Kimberlé Crenshaw: The urgency of intersectionality

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Now more than ever, it's important to look boldly at the reality of race and gender bias -- and understand how the two can combine to create even more harm. Kimberlé Crenshaw uses the term "intersectionality" to describe this phenomenon; as she says, if you're standing in the path of multiple forms of exclusion, you're likely to get hit by both.

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GSOLE 2020 Webinar on Intersectional frameworks in FYC OWI Environments

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GSOLE 2020 Webinar on Intersectional frameworks in FYC OWI Environments

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On Novemeber 2, 2020, I presented to a community of GSOLE scholars about the intersections of race, writing pedagogy, and online writing environments. In this slide show I share the ways I see bridges being made between antiracist OWI frameworks and traditional OWI frameworks in order to account for a more inclusive OWI environment

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A ROOM OF ONE'S OWN: The Story of an Hour--Whose hour?

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A ROOM OF ONE'S OWN: The Story of an Hour--Whose hour?

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Virginia Wolf Chapter 1:
https://victorianpersistence.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/a-room-of-ones-own-virginia-woolf-1929.pdf
Reflection:
Early feminism was exclusive in who it considered to be privileged enough to call themselves feminists. However, it is important to bring in readings that consider various points of view surrounding the ideas, ideals. and experiences of feminism in order to understand what self-proclaimed feminists thought of themselves and their unique paths to liberations, which were clearly tied to their whiteness and traditional ideas of domesticity.

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It's important to have students return to the idea of intersectionality in various digital formats.

Example 1: Sample Syllabus

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yW15jteJlzwgpU58FReY_cPqY-4NRq59FeX2OYwj1Sg/edit?usp=sharing

Example 2:

Assignment : Weekly Archive and Gallery Building Task

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Cy66_CJO6DCsJqG04ROmCal4_Nm8_H0l5-rbJYJTKms/edit?usp=sharing

Example 3:

Breakout Room Exercise

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z-UaNKe3PqbTHaF0XqLcRfbEvLX7VCbqOppXut50Uhg/edit?usp=sharing

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Includes Example of Research-Based Infographics and Critical Memes

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SayHerName a case study of intersectional social media activism.pdf

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LibGuide on how to research Gloria Anzaldua.

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LibGuide on how to research Gloria Anzaldua.

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Skip to main content

It looks like you're using Internet Explorer 11 or older. This website works best with modern browsers such as the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. If you continue with this browser, you may see unexpected results.

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LibGuides: Gloria Evangelina Anzaldúa: Home

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Skip to main content It looks like you're using Internet Explorer 11 or older. This website works best with modern browsers such as the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. If you continue with this browser, you may see unexpected results.

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Here you will see an example of an assignment that I do with my students that is geared toward teaching them critical digital literacy from and anti-racist lens.

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Lecture: How to Tame a Wild Tongue - Gloria Anzaldua

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Lecture: How to Tame a Wild Tongue - Gloria Anzaldua

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Lecture: How to Tame a Wild Tongue - Gloria Anzaldúa

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Reclaiming Composition for Chicano/as and other Ethnic Minorities: A Critical History and Pedagogy.

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Reclaiming Composition for Chicano/as and other Ethnic Minorities: A Critical History and Pedagogy.

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This book examines the history of ethnic minorities particularly Chicano/as and Latino/as--in the field of composition and rhetoric; the connections between composition and major US historical movements toward inclusiveness in education; the ways our histories of that inclusiveness have overlooked Chicano/as; and how this history can inform the teaching of composition and writing to Chicano/a and Latino/a students in the present day. Bridging the gap between Ethnic Studies, Critical History, and Composition Studies, Ruiz creates a new model of the practice of critical historiography and shows how that can be developed into a critical writing pedagogy for students who live in an increasingly multicultural, multilingual society.

Composition Studies Mexican American Studies Latino/a History Composition Pedagogy Ethnic Studies Mexican Rhetorics African American Rhetoric Critical Pedagogy Critical Historiography Composition Pedagogy Critical Race Theory Critical Education

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Reclaiming Composition for Chicano/as and Other Ethnic Minorities

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This book examines the history of ethnic minorities particularly Chicano/as and Latino/as--in the field of composition and rhetoric; the connections between composition and major US historical movements toward inclusiveness in education; the ways our histories of that inclusiveness have overlooked Chicano/as; and how this history can inform the teaching of composition and writing to Chicano/a and Latino/a students in the present day.

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"Pedagogue" is a podcast for writing studies practitioners. There are many notable podcasts in this series. Please see episode 27, in which I discuss Critical Historical Approaches to Teaching FYC. I also discuss my monograph, Reclaiming Composition for Chicano/as and other Ethnic Minorities: A Critical History and Pedagogy.

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​In this episode, Mike Rose talks about his first experience teaching, how he's changed, the intimate connection between teaching and writing, and how he continues to feel a sense of unbelonging.

In this episode, Mike Rose talks about valuing interdisciplinary knowledge in the classroom, he shares how he responds to student writing, he talks about what he's reading, and his tentative title to his new book.

In this episode, Stephanie Vie talks about using social media in the writing classroom, students' responses to social media writing assignments, and how she is mentoring graduate students and working closely with program directors to help support writing initiatives within her department.

In this episode, Steve Parks talks about the writing classroom as a space for validating students' literacy, how he shifts his identity to help create a more inclusive classroom, and strategies for developing and sustaining community partnerships.

In this episode, Kyle Larson and Dana Comi talk about their research and writing, what has surprised them most about graduate school and what advice has helped, how the grad seminar can be re-imagined, and being actively involved in their local communities.

In this episode, Nancy Sommers talks about her first experience teaching, her work on responding to student writing, what comments best complement her teaching values, and she shares the importance of reflection in the writing classroom.

In this episode, Lisa King talks about Native American and Indigenous rhetorics, how this approach to teaching changes the writing classroom, and she shares additional resources for teachers and allies.

In this episode, Jessica Nastal talks about her approach to teaching writing at a two-year college, her transition from a public research university in the deep South to a community college in the south suburbs of Chicago, and her research on writing placement.

In this episode, Beverly J. Moss talks about her research in African American churches and communities, how she embraces community literacies in teaching, and what it means to teach writing as an African American woman in a predominately white space.

In this episode, Megan Von Bergen and Liz Miller talk about their research interests and what informs their teaching, mental health and disability studies, response and assessment practices, and using accessible pedagogies and practices.

In this episode, John Duffy talks about ethics, how teachers are already engaged in teaching ethical communication, and he shares what "virtue ethics" can offer writing teachers and the writing classroom.

In this episode, Asao B. Inoue talks about classroom writing assessment, whether labor is a more equitable measure than traditional classroom assessment standards, and students' perception on labor-based grading contracts.

In this episode, Chuck Bazerman talks about what surprises him the most about teaching, he reflects on rhetorical genre studies and the impact genre has on teaching writing, and he talks about the importance of writing across the curriculum.

In this episode, Sharon Mitchler talks about teaching at a rural community college in Washington, she shares approaches and practices for facilitating discussion in a diverse classroom, her research on Teaching for Transfer, and how teachers can work together across institutions.

In this episode, Shawna Ross and Douglas Dowland talk about their work theorizing anxiety, how anxiety becomes an opportunity to better understand reading and writing practices, and how they invite students to talk about their anxieties in the writing classroom.

In this episode, Anna Hensley and Brian Bailie talk about what it's like teaching at a branch campus, they talk about their experiences in the classroom, and how their graduate school experience didn't quite train them for their current positions.

In this episode, Staci M. Perryman-Clark talks about writing program administration, Afrocentric and language rights pedagogies, institutional polices that embrace blackness as a cultural epistemological framework, and student success.

In this episode, Jennifer Grouling talks about classroom writing assessment practices and values, AAC&U VALUE rubrics, the advantages and disadvantages of using technology to respond to student writing, and she shares strategies for new writing teachers.

In this episode, Candace Epps-Robertson talks about social justice, race, and community literacies, facing resistance in the writing classroom, and her new research on public pedagogies and BTS.

In this episode, Vershawn Ashanti Young talks about pedagogical experimentation and writing as performance, developing cultural and societal justice in the writing classroom, emphasizing self-reflection and ethical good through teaching, and understanding cultural identity and code meshing.

In this episode, Laura Gonzales talks about Sites of Translation, teaching digital rhetorics and technical communication, language diversity and accessibility, and community literacies.

In this episode, Paula Mathieu talks about mindfulness and contemplative practices, how writing teachers can foster kindness and self-reflection in the writing classroom, and she carefully examines the current state of writing studies and offers future direction.

In this episode, Darin Jensen talks about teaching at Des Moines Area Community College, basic writing pedagogies and practices, the characterization of "basic writing," and how institutions and programs can better support and prepare teachers for two-year colleges.

In this episode, Cruz Medina talks about multimodal composition, digital writing and multicultural rhetoric, social justice and social media, and integrating technology in the writing classroom.

In this episode, Chris M. Anson talks about what got him interested in rhetoric and composition and teaching writing, he talks about teacher response and using screencasting technologies to respond to student writing, and he offers advice to first-time teachers.

In this episode, Tara Wood talks about disability studies, ableism, crip time, and how to center disability studies in writing classrooms and programs.

In this episode, Iris D. Ruiz talks about Chicanx studies and ethnic studies, examining histories and embracing diversity and inclusivity, decolonial theory, and antiracist practices.

In this episode, Frankie Condon talks about centering writing classes and writing centers on antiracism, building sustainable spaces committed to language diversity, and how to incorporate class assignments that complement this kind of work.

In this episode, Christina V. Cedillo talks about her teaching and research on affect and embodiment, critical embodiment pedagogies, invisible disabilities, connections between racism and ableism, disability studies and technology, and teaching basic writing.

In this episode, Jody Shipka talks about how she got into teaching, multimodal pedagogy and multimodal assignments, and edible rhetoric and food studies in the writing classroom.

In this episode, David F. Green, Jr. talks about teaching at Howard University, a private research HBCU in Washington D.C., writing program administration, writing assessment, language standards, and African American rhetoric and hip hop in the writing classroom.

In this episode, Les Hutchinson Campos talks about cultural rhetorics pedagogy, strategies for building an inclusive class community, social media, and privacy and surveillance.

In this episode, Howard Tinberg talks about what led him to Bristol Community College , the importance of teaching reading in the writing classroom, Teaching for Transfer, challenges facing two-year colleges, and future directions for two-year college research.

In this episode, Karen Keaton Jackson talks about Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), the absence and silencing of HBCU voices and experiences in composition studies, teaching narratives in first-year writing, cross-institutional collaborations, and writing centers.

In this episode, Neal Lerner talks about writing centers, writing center research and scholarship, training peer consultants, and constraints that affect writing center work.

In this episode, Charles Woods and Deb Young talk about their teaching and research interests, digital rhetorical privacy and service-learning, managing grad school, podcasting, and integrated communication pedagogy.

In this episode, Jay Dolmage talks about disability studies, ableism, accessible pedagogies and practices, and future directions for disability studies in rhetoric and composition.

In this episode, Temptaous Mckoy talks about technical and professional communication, amplification rhetorics, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), embodiment, and future directions for rhetoric and composition as a field.

In this episode, Cecilia Shelton talks about disrupting traditional technical and professional communication genres, embracing a Black Feminist pedagogical framework, digital and cultural rhetorics, social justice and antiracism, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

In this episode, Holly Hassel talks about feminist pedagogy, teaching online, two-year colleges, student success, and the future of rhetoric and composition.

In this episode, Beatrice Mendez Newman talks about teaching at one of the largest Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) in the U.S., integrating cultural and linguistic histories and identities in the writing classroom, problematizing traditional standards associated with language, and embracing translingual and multimodal practices.

In this episode, Eunjeong Lee talks about multilingual writers, teaching second language writing, critical approaches to language and literacy studies, multimodality, and translingual practices.

In this episode, Rebecca S. Nowacek talks about writing centers, cultivating and sustaining success in writing center work, advantages of co-directing a writing center, threshold concepts, and developing peer tutors.

In this episode, Chris Thaiss talks about key moments in the history and development of Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC), issues and questions facing WAC programs, the importance of WAC work, and future directions in WAC.

In this episode, Dev Bose talks about disability studies, accommodations, ethics and disclosure, his research on college writers with ADHD, and portfolio assessment.

In this episode, J. Michael Rifenburg talks about writing classes and athletic programs, how writing teachers can develop more ethical, inclusive teaching practices that keep in mind student-athletes, and his more recent work on cadet writing.

In this episode, Melvin Beavers talks about writing program administration (WPA), his research on online writing instruction and professionalizing part-time faculty to teach online, principles to online pedagogy, and he shares advice for those interested in WPA work.

In this episode, Kristi Prins and Jason Luther talk about craft, materiality, multimodal pedagogies and practices, and the advantages of incorporating zines, podcasts, and other DIY projects in the writing classroom.

In this episode, Carolyn Calhoon-Dillahunt talks about Yakima Valley College, a two-year college in Yakima, Wa., developmental writing courses, response to student writing, and the Two-Year College Association (TYCA).

In this episode, Jacob Babb talks about writing program administration, spatial rhetoric, transitioning as a writing program administrator, supporting faculty, and bluegrass music in the writing classroom.

In this episode, Harry Denny talks about identity politics, writing centers as sites for activism and empowerment, mentoring tutors, and fostering a sense of community in the writing center.

In this episode, Cody Hoover talks about Clovis Community College, how he encourages students to write about their identities and communities, embracing and advocating for linguistic diversity, and his experiences as a teacher and student at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs).

In this episode, Suresh Canagarajah talks about second language writing, transnationalism, translingualism, and using literacy autobiographies in the writing classroom.

In this episode, Linda Adler-Kassner talks about literacy, threshold concepts, Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC), facilitating workshops with faculty across disciplines, and assessing WAC programs.

In this episode, Bryna Siegel Finer talks about basic writing, pedagogical development, program placement, and building more sustainable writing programs.

In this episode, Elizabeth Wardle talks about her experiences as a writing program administrator, what guides her administrative philosophy, the role of mentorship in administration, and the concept of transfer.

In this episode, Todd Ruecker talks about second language writing programs and classes, meeting the linguistic needs of students, and supporting second language writers.

In this episode, Steven J. Corbett talks about teaching at Texas A&M University, Kingsville, peer review and establishing a student-centered writing classroom, and how Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) can better serve their students.

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​In this episode, Mike Rose talks about his first experience teaching, how he's changed, the intimate connection between teaching and writing, and how he continues to feel a sense of unbelonging. In this episode, Mike Rose talks about valuing interdisciplinary knowledge in the classroom, he shares how he responds to student writing, he talks about what he's reading, and his tentative title to his new book.

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Iris Ruiz on NCTE Position Statement in Support of Ethnic Studies Initiatives in K-12 Curricula

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Reclaiming One's Own Room: Gender, Race, and Class

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Reclaiming One's Own Room: Gender, Race, and Class

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bell hooks

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8Keeping Close to Home Class and Education - bell hooks.pdf

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Read more? Here is my Academia.edu site. 

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Read more? Here is my Academia.edu site. 

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Iris Ruiz | University of California, Merced - Academia.edu

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Academia.edu is a place to share and follow research.

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Here is where we begin our critical antiracist and decolonial work.

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Paradigms, Pedagogies, and Problem Solving (P to the III)

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This is an example of a digital timeline of one's discipline that has gone through several revisions to account for intersectional contributions.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GxrmvjNRgWXICrzuueGGzZyqLuw05VvaO1EihO3kiSI/edit?usp=sharing

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Toulmin and MLK Jr (Civil Rights History)

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Toulmin and MLK Jr (Civil Rights History)

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The Rhetorical Outline in First-Year Composition Contexts

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Letter from Birmingham Jail Toulmin Diagram

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Letter from Birmingham Jail Toulmin Diagram

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The Original Letter from Birmingham Jail

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The Original Letter from Birmingham Jail

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The Backstory: Providing Historical Context

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The Backstory: Providing Historical Context

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On April 12, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and nearly 50 other protestors and civil rights leaders were arrested after leading a Good Friday demonstration as part of the Birmingham Campaign, designed to bring national attention to the brutal, racist treatment suffered by blacks in one of the most segregated cities in America-Birmingham, Alabama. For months, an organized boycott of the city's white-owned businesses had failed to achieve any substantive results, leaving King and others convinced they had no other options but more direct actions, ignoring a recently passed ordinance that prohibited public gathering without an official permit.

For King, this arrest-his 13th-would become one of the most important of his career. Thrown into solitary confinement, King was initially denied access to his lawyers or allowed to contact his wife, until President John F. Kennedy was urged to intervene on his behalf. As previously agreed upon, King was not immediately bailed out of jail by his supporters, having instead agreed to a longer stay in jail to draw additional attention to the plight of black Americans.

Shortly after King's arrest, a friend smuggled in a copy of an April 12 Birmingham newspaper which included an open letter, written by eight local Christian and Jewish religious leaders, which criticized both the demonstrations and King himself, whom they considered an outside agitator. Isolated in his cell, King began working on a response. Without notes or research materials, King drafted an impassioned defense of his use of nonviolent, but direct, actions.
READ MORE: 10 Things You May Not Know About Martin Luther King Jr.
Over the course of the letter's 7,000 words, he turned the criticism back upon both the nation's religious leaders and more moderate-minded white Americans, castigating them for sitting passively on the sidelines while King and others risked everything agitating for change. King drew inspiration for his words from a long line of religious and political philosophers, quoting everyone from St. Augustine and Socrates to Thomas Jefferson and then-Chief Justice of the United States Earl Warren, who had overseen the Supreme Court's landmark civil rights ruling in Brown v. Board of Education.

For those, including the Birmingham religious leaders, who urged caution and remained convinced that time would solve the country's racial issues, King reminded them of Warren's own words on the need for desegregation, "justice too long delayed is justice denied." And for those who thought the Atlanta-based King had no right to interfere with issues in Alabama, King argued, in one of his most famous phrases, that he could not sit "idly by in Atlanta" because "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Without writing papers, King initially began by jotting down notes in the margin of the newspaper itself, before writing out portions of the work on scraps of paper he gave his attorneys-allowing a King ally, Wyatt Walker, to begin compiling the letter, which eventually ran to 21 double-spaced, typed pages. Curiously, King never sent a copy to any of the eight Birmingham clergy to whom he had "responded," leaving many to believe that he had intended it to have a much broader, national, audience all along.

King was finally released from jail on April 20, four days after penning the letter. Despite the harsh treatment he and his fellow protestors had received, King continued his work in Birmingham. Just two weeks later, more than 1,000 schoolchildren took part in the famed "Children's Crusade," skipping school to march through the city streets advocating for integration and racial equality. Birmingham's Commissioner of Public Safety Eugene "Bull" Connor, who King had repeatedly criticized in his letter for his harsh treatment, ordered fire hoses and police dogs to be turned on the young protestors; more than 600 of them were jailed on the first day alone. The brutal and cruel police tactics on display in Alabama were broadcast on televisions around the world, horrifying many Americans.
READ MORE: 8 Works of Literature Written from Prison
With Birmingham in chaos and businesses shuttered, local officials were forced to meet with King and agree to some, but not all, of his demands. On June 11, with the horrific events in Birmingham still seared on the American consciousness, and following Governor George Wallace's refusal to integrate the University of Alabama until the arrival of the U.S. National Guard, President Kennedy addressed the nation, announcing his plans to present sweeping civil rights legislation to the U.S. Congress. Kennedy's announcement, however, did little to quell the unrest in Birmingham and on September 15, 1963, a Ku Klux Klan bombing at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church left four young African American girls dead.

By this time, King's Letter from Birmingham Jail had begun to appear in publications across the country. Months earlier, Harvey Shapiro, an editor at The New York Times, had urged King to use his frequent jailing as an opportunity to write a longer defense of his use of nonviolent tactics, and though King did so, The New York Times chose not to publish it. Others did, including The Atlantic Monthly and The Christian Century, one of the most prominent Protestant magazines in the nation. In the weeks leading up to the March on Washington, King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference used the letter as part of its fundraising efforts, and King himself used it as a basis for a book, Why We Can't Wait, which looked back upon the successes and failures of the Birmingham Campaign. The book was released in July 1964, the same month President Lyndon Johnson signed the landmark Civil Rights Act into law.

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Behind Martin Luther King's Searing 'Letter from Birmingham Jail' | HISTORY

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King penned of the seminal texts of the civil rights movement while in solitary confinement, initially on the margins of a newspaper.

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-A59MssXSqzcREs20FgsdBlapLccuOAkrr9SLVYYOMw/edit

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(1963) Martin Luther King, Jr., “Letter From a Birmingham Jail” •

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My Dear Fellow Clergymen: While confined here in the Birmingham city jail, I came across your recent statement calling my present activities “unwise and untimely.” Seldom do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas. If I sought to answer all the criticisms … Read More(1963) Martin Luther Kin…

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(1963) Martin Luther King, Jr., “Letter From a Birmingham Jail”

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The three main parts of the Toulmin Modell.

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The three main parts of the Toulmin Modell.

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From _Writing Permitted in Designated Areas Only_ By, Linda Brodkey 

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From _Writing Permitted in Designated Areas Only_ By, Linda Brodkey 

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Why are we so similar? Hmmmm...I wonder.

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https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/historical_perspectives_on_argumentation/toulmin_argument.html

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Toulmin Model: Claim - Data - Warrant: A Model for

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Quote from _The Function of Theory in Composition Studies_. Pg. 71

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Quote from _The Function of Theory in Composition Studies_. Pg. 71

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Martin Luther King, Jr. reads his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail"

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On the occasion of the 50th anniversary year of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech, MetroFocus examines the story behind the letter King wrote from a jail cell in Birmingham, Alabama a few months before the famous speech. Pi Roman talks to Columbia University’s Barnard College professor Jonathan Rieder about his new book, Gospel of Freedom: Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail and the Struggle That Changed a Nation. Click here to read an excerpt.

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Gospel of Freedom: A Look Back at Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Letter From Birmingham Jail

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On the occasion of the 50th anniversary year of Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech, MetroFocus examines the story behind the letter King wrote from a jail cell in Birmingham, Alabama a few months before the famous speech.

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From _The Function of Theory in Composition Studies_. Pg. 72

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From _The Function of Theory in Composition Studies_. Pg. 72