The Hard Conversations

By Author: peter
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I conclude with some general thoughts about how a shift in the meaning of value can bridge some of the divisions between English studies and composition/rhetoric. As we have seen, when value is framed strictly in terms of exchange-value (exchanging one text for another), a certain set of expectations/practices seems to be put into place. The principal agents become the professors and students; the principal site of activity is the university.

In this class, the knowledge students have gained outside of class—about the U.S. Civil Rights movement, about Vietnam, about military families with soldiers overseas—is invited into the class to bring life to historical documents that may seem impenetrable. Rather than shielding students from the hard work of academic literacy until they demonstrate the capability to Links Of London comprehend such texts on their own, actually engaging them in academic reading, with expert teacher support and a collaborative learning environment, is seen as the most important way to build young people's capability.

However, with ...
... the introduction of use-value as a guiding metaphor, a different set of interests becomes part of the equation, forcing a different set of responsibilities onto the institution. It becomes possible to imagine each partner (the university and the community) as providing value to the project and being accorded the right to determine its use. Value production can be seen as a communal process, the aim of which is to produce a mutually reaffirming literacy product. Invoking use-value as an organizing principle demands that a common (if contentious) space of negotiation and production be created. For this reason, I believe that curriculum reform must be more than the simple inclusion of texts that represent "alternative values;" it must mean more than providing diverse texts for students to judge by some moral standard or to use to learn academic discourse. This is important work, but it is only one piece. One of the goals of English studies, and of composition/rhetoric programs in particular, is to help students understand the connections between language and cultural power.

Michelle Kehm tries to create a modern-day Nancy Drew mystery with Suzi Clue: The Prom Queen Curse. Suzi is a tenacious character who will stop at nothing to solve the mystery of the curse. This book revolves around the theme of being perfect. The counterpoint is Suzi Clue. She does not want to be perfect; in fact, she tries to go against the mold as much as possible. However, the school and its patrons value the "perfect" BGs: Gigi and her circle of friends. The author illustrates the lengths that people will go to for perfection or to destroy it. Although the Links Of London Bracelets conflict is obviously implausible, the story is still entertaining as Suzi races against the clock to try to solve the mystery of the prom queen curse.

To do this most effectively, English studies must create a path for students that is based in both traditional course offerings (which teach the history of literary texts, cultural theory, key concepts in rhetoric, ethnography, and linguistics) and in courses that engage students in the informed production of use-value; that is, in addition to traditional courses, students must participate in both the creation of the aesthetic written object and the economy of partnerships out of which it emerges. Ultimately, the work of producing collaborative publications between the university and their local communities, socializing and expanding the aesthetic means of production, should become a key element of our pedagogical and professional work. Community publishing projects are a primary vehicle for such work.