tejas foco 2015 entrance into the public sphere
TRANSCRIPT
Entrance into the Public
Sphere
Marginalized Students Engaging their Local Public Rhetoric
Bruce J. Martin
Lone Star College – North Harris
Houston TX
Overview
• Theory
• Local Rhetoric
• Course Design
• Call for the Community College to College to the Community
Theoretical FrameworkCritical Pedagogy
• Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. 1970.
• hooks, bell. Teaching to Transgress. 1994.
Writing as Meaning-Making
• Council on Writing Program Administrators, et al. Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing. 2011.
Public Sphere
• Barton, David and Mary Hamilton. Local Literacies: Reading and Writing in One Community. 2012.
• Habermas, Jurgen. Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere. 1989.
• Long, Elenore. Community Literacy and the Rhetoric of Local Publics. 2008.
• Weisser, Christian. Moving Beyond Academic Discourse. 2002.
• Welch, Nancy. Living Room. 2008.
Boots on the Ground,
Freire, 2.0 (Barton & Hamilton)
• Grounded in individual experience (“existential experience”) -- authentic
experiences versus the oppressive system
• Teacher less a masculine leader of revolution than a feminine nurturer;
advocates classrooms as community more than a merely “safe spaces”
• People/students will have different reasons for coming to liberation; versus
Freire’s belief of a singular path to liberation
• Assumptions of power -- who is able to talk, who affects whom
Long, The Local Public Framework Point of Comparison Brief Definition
Guided Metaphor The image that describes the discursive space where ordinary
people go public, including distinctive features
Context Location, as well as other context-specific factors that give
public literacies their meaning
Tenor of the Discourse Register – the affective quality of the discourse
Literacy Key practices that comprise the discourses; how people use
writing and words to organize and carry out their purposes for
going public
Rhetorical Invention The generative process by which people respond to the exigencies
that call the local public into being
The College and Its Students
Median household income = $33,000
Latino population 60%-80%
Some areas 50% foreign-born
Harris county Civic/ Rhetorical Ecology
County Commission
City of Houston (et al)
Homeowners Associations
School Districts
Special Legislative Districts
Constable Precincts
The CoursePublic Sphere
Persuasion
Authoritative Textual Analysis
Critical Survey of the Local
Personal Rhetorical Biography
Rhetorical Autobiography Voices
As a woman, I face unconscious feelings of racism and discrimination from
others on a daily basis. Despite this, I am the type of person who voices their
opinion whether people like it or not. I know my obstacles but I also know that
they can be broken enough to get my point across. If something needs to be
said I will say it and make sure I’m listened to.
Female, 19
Rhetorical Autobiography Voices
In my family we like to discuss issues going on in society in our barbeques we have twice a
month. We sit there and complain and critique, but I've never heard any of us say, “Let’s do
something about it.” I believe that this is the mentality that most Hispanics around my
community have. In school we are taught that we have the right to free speech but many
Hispanics are afraid to exercise that right because of fear of ICE or La Migra because of the
raids that have happen in the local flea markets. I believe that this causes the Hispanic people
to want to remain silent and hidden. The fear of being stripped from their homes quiets the
sleeping giant. They act like whatever the government decides to do won’t affect them, when in
reality they are the main ones being targeted by the government.
Male, 19
Rhetorical Autobiography Voices
I have never been a big fan of English courses. So when Prof. Martin gave us the writing
assignment and project for the course I was excited. Our project was to find a local problem
learn from it, and get it out to the public. it wasn't guaranteed to get fix right away but getting
people to be aware of it was the main goal. This project made me well aware of problems
within my own community which I was blind to…. This class taught me that speaking is truly
the only way problems can be heard and getting your opinion out there doesn't mean there will
be a "fight" or an argument. So since this class I’ve been speaking up a little more in class and
have been trying to be less shy.
Male, 19
Critical Survey of the Local Rhetoric
Authoritative Textual Analysis
Local texts as public discourse
Harris County Commissioner Position IV
Quarterly NewsletterParks and green
spacesCommunity Centers
for Events
Little attention to working class concerns
• Street safety
• Pedestrian safety
• Animal control
• Crime control
Local texts as public discourse
School Districts
Programs, positive only
No discussion of pedestrian
safety
Two mile walking
Public Sphere Persuasion
Rhetoric of World-Making
Not to change the world, but to engage with own peer-stakeholdingcitizens to create a consensus, or at least a counterpublic to the authorities which overlook these working/poverty class, people of color families that come to the community college.
Ultimately, our obligation is to return the college back to the community.
Student findings• Both students and their families are unaware of “state” (local government) rhetoric
– distant publics (J Rice).
• Local government sometimes uncommunicative, uncooperative – problem of
serving the end-user
• Local government engagement not addressed to working class families – where
public spheres don’t exist
• Local government chooses to engage Spanish-speaking, except for fees
• Students’ neighbors are interested, but often themselves do not know how to get
started
• Writing from “me” to “us” helps map personal responsibility and cultural obstacles
Student Engagement
• Trash disappeared and monthly contract for large-trash removal
• Surveys for widening one of the two-lane roads
• More public information re: report potholes, etc.
• Greater understanding how to approach/call/visit local governments
• More understanding of communities’ history, composition, lack of
engagement
• Some students more engaged on campus in free speech efforts
A New Rhetorical Public Sphere Model
New LanguagesNew Places/
TimeNew
Communication
A New Rhetorical Public Sphere Model
Community College Students Interns for 21 Technologies Communication
Community College Students Host on Campus Place
Community College Students Interns to Translate and AddendumLanguage
My ReflectionsConcerns
• No secondary or ENGL 1301 writing [or other GOVT] has prepared for ENGL
1302 for such public engagement – large learning curve
• “Local government” illiteracy – little awareness of how local power works –
secondary standardized testing invisible to effective rhetoric
• Basics of public communication needed – students now how to make a phone call
• Ethnic and social class stereotypes inhibit rhetorical multilingual participation
• Students’ enthusiasm cyclical as they become more involve in their community
• Long-term results – more than 15 weeks
The CoursePublic Sphere
Persuasion
Authoritative Textual Analysis
Critical Survey of the Local
Personal Rhetorical Biography