Critical Rhetoric and Pedagogy.docx
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Critical Rhetoric and Pedagogy.docx
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CriticalRhetoricandPedagogy
CriticalRhetoricandPedagogy:
(Re)ConsideringStudent-CenteredDialogue1
CathyB.Glenn
DepartmentofSpeechCommunication
SouthernIllinoisUniversity
Carbondale
cglenn@siu.edu
Ifstudentsaregoingtolearnhowtotakerisks,todevelopahealthyskepticismtowardsallmasternarratives,torecognizethepowerrelationsthatofferthemtheopportunitytospeakinparticularways,andbewillingtocriticallyconfronttheirroleascriticalcitizenswhocananimateademocraticculture,theyneedtoseesuchbehaviordemonstratedinthesocialpracticesandsubjectpositionsthatteachersliveoutandnotmerelypropose.(Giroux,1992,p.141)
Inpractice,criticalrhetoricseekstounmaskordemystifythediscourseofpower.Theaimistounderstandtheintegrationofpower/knowledgeinsociety—whatpossibilitiesorchangetheintegrationinvitesorinhibits,andwhatinterventionstrategiesmightbeconsideredappropriatetoeffectsocialchange.(McKerrow,1989,p.91
Ingeneral,aprincipleaimofcritical2approachestopedagogyisthecreationofconditionswithinwhichstudentsareabletodevelopacriticalconsciousness.Thepedagogicalprocessofdevelopingcriticalconsciousness(orPauloFreire'snotionofconscientization)3involvesshowingstudentshowtorecognizeandevaluatestructuresofpower.Thispedagogicalfocusondevelopingcriticalconsciousnessmeansthatstudentscanbegintounderstandthemselvesasactiveagents,enablingthemtoidentifyand/orcreateconditionsforthepossibilityofchangeinoppressivesociopoliticalconstructs.Aspartofthispedagogicalapproach,student-centereddialogueiscitedasessentialinfacilitatingthedevelopmentofcriticalconsciousness(Friere,1970;Giroux,1992;hooks,1994;McLaren,1997;Shor,1997;Tayko&Tassoni,1998).However,sincecriticaldialogueismosteasilyfacilitatedwithinarelativelysmall,seminar-likeclassstructure,largerclasspopulationspresentaconsiderablechallenge.Theabsenceofcriticalpedagogyliteraturethatdiscussesthischallengepointstoaneedfortheorizinghowcriticalconsciousnessmightbedevelopedwithalargenumberofstudents.Iaim,inthisessay,tocontributetothatliteraturebypresentingacasestudyanalysisthatdemonstrateshowcriticalconsciousnessdevelopmentcanbeenabledinaclassroomwithover100students.
Thecasestudyanalysispresentedinthisessaysuggeststhatstudent-centereddialogueisnottheonly--norisitanessential—meansforhelpingstudentsdevelopasenseofcriticalconsciousness.UtilizingRaymieMcKerrow's(1989)theoryofcriticalrhetorictoanalyzethestrategiesofoneteacher,Ifocusonhowthedevelopmentofcriticalconsciousnessispossiblewithoutacentralfocusonstudent-centereddialogue.Inthefirstsection,Iofferabriefoverviewofcriticalpedagogyasitrelatestostudent-centereddialogue.OutlinedinthesecondsectionareMcKerrow'spraxis-orientedaspectsofacriticalrhetoric.Inthethirdsection,thevariousteachingstrategiespresentedinthecasestudyareanalyzedviaMcKerrow'sconcepts.Inthelastsection,Isuggestpossibleimplicationsfortheorizingcriticalpedagogywhenstudent-centereddialogueisnotaviableoption.Myhopeinofferingthisexampleofcriticalpedagogy--performedinacontextgenerallydeemedinadequatetosupportsuchanapproach--istounderscorehowcriticalconsciousnessdevelopmentdoesnotdependonan.priorifocusonstudent-centereddialogue.
CriticalPedagogy&Student-CenteredDialogue
Ingeneral,criticalpedagogy4hasbeendescribedasanapproachtoteachingthat,throughafocusonstudents'interestsandidentities,attemptstomoveawayfromteacher-andtext-centeredcurricula.Bydrawingsubjectmatterfromstudents'ownlives,language,andcultures,acriticalreadingofdominantsociopoliticalconstructsisincludedandsituatedwithinstudents'experiencestoprovideasociohistoricalcontextfromwhichtoenvisionandenactsocialchange(Friere,1970;Giroux,1992;hooks,1994;McLaren,1997;1998;Shor,1997).Inshort,criticalpedagogyaimsatdevelopingstudents'criticalconsciousness.Eventhoughthespecificmeansengagedtodosovaryamongpedagoguesinthisarea,affordingaprivilegedstatustostudent-centereddialogueisafamiliartheme.
Theadvantagesofcriticaldialogueintheclassroomhavebeenafocalpointinrecenteducationaltheoryandresearchandmuchhasbeenwrittenexplicatingthetransformativepotentialofincludingastudent-centereddialogicaspectincriticalapproachestoteaching(Arnett,1993;Boler,1997;Conle,1997;Friere,1987,1997;hooks1994;McHenry,1997;Popkewitz,1997;Schutz,1998).Thesescholarspointtotheconstitutiveaspectsofdialogueastheprimarymeansforhelpingstudentsdevelopanawarenessoftheiragencyinaffectingchangeinoppressivecircumstances.Performingascriticallythinkingandspeakingsubjectsintheclassroomprovides,forstudents,thebasisforperformingascitizen-criticsoutsideit,aswell(Giroux,1992).Scholarshaveaddressedhowdialoguecanofferstudentsanopportunitytorehearsesocialcriticism(Andrews,1989;Foss,1989;Fry,1986),howsocioculturalandidentityissuescanbetreatedduringdialogicprocesses(Braithwaite,1997;Kidd,1989;Strine,1993),andhowissuesrelatedtogenderandsexualorientationcanbecriticallyengagedwhendialogueisstudent-centered(Campbell,1991;Jenefsky,1996;Wood&Lenze,1991;Yep,1998).Itseemsclearfromtheseaccountsthatstudentsbenefitwhentheyareofferedopportunitiestoengageincriticaldialoguewithpeers.
Whileacknowledgingthevalueofastudent-centeredapproachtodialogicpedagogy,anequalacknowledgementofthecontingenciesofinstitutional,sociopolitical,andideologicalconstraintsmustbeconsideredalongsidetheaimsofacriticalapproachtoteaching(Boyd,1999;Burbules,2000;Gur-ze'ev,1998;Lather,1998)5.Oneofthoseinstitutionallimitationsisclasssize,anaspectofclassroomorganizationthatisrarely,ifever,apartofthescholarlydiscussionofstudent-centereddialogue.Itshouldgowithoutsayingthateachclassroomcontextisuniqueandeachintrinsicallypossessesitsownpromiseandpotential;ontheotherhand,eachalsopresentsdistinctivecontextualchallenges(Glenn,1999b).Thisrecognitionofcontextcontingency--specificallyasitrelatestothenumberofstudentsinaparticularclass--isnonexistentinscholarshipadvocatingacriticalapproachtoteachingthatutilizeslearner-centereddialogueasthemeanstoattaincriticalconsciousness.
Facilitatingcriticaldialogueisnotaneasytask,evenwitharelativelysmallnumberofstudents;itisacomplicatedprocess--usuallyamongonefacilitator-teacherandmanystudents—thatrequiresconstantcommunicative(re)negotiation(Glenn,1999a).Forthosecriticalpedagogueswhofindthemselvesinthecontextofalargeclassroom,thatcommunicationprocessbecomesnearlyuntenable.Itiscrucialforthoseteachers,then,todevelopspecific,situated,andlocalizedstrategiesinordertoretainthecriticalcharacteroftheirteachingapproachwhileadjustingtheirteachingstrategiestoaccommodatealargenumberofstudents.Dr.MichelleWolfisonesuchteacher,andthisstudyrepresentsastartingplacefortheorizingthosestrategiesemployedinherclassroom.
Dr.WolfwasoneofmyprofessorswhenIwasanundergraduatestudentatSanFranciscoStateUniversity(SFSU),andherteachingapproachleftanimpressiononmethathasendured.Dr.Wolfis20-yearfacultymemberintheDepartmentofBroadcastandElectronicCommunicationArts(BECA);shecompletedherM.A.inCommunicationStudiesattheUniversityofMassachusettsandherPh.D.inCommunicationTheory--withaMassCommunicationsandEducationalPsychologyemphasis--attheUniversityofTexasatAustinbeforecomingtoCalifornia.Dr.Wolfhasbeenteachingfor25years.Beingapartofherclass“SocialAspectsofElectronicMedia”(BECA422)wasamemorableexperienceformeasanundergraduate;herprovocativestyleandinherentlycriticalmodeofteachingwasalwaysengaging.Thetheoreticalmaterialintroducedinclasswasinterspersedwithfrequentlyaffective,sometimesgraphic,andalwayscontroversialmedia;and,theseculturalfragmentswereofferedwithahealthymeasureofDr.Wolf'sownsocioculturalcritique.EventhoughIregularlyfoundmyselfdisagreeingwithparticularpositionsshetookinthecourseofintroducingthematerial,herobviousenthusiasmfor,commitmentto,andengagementwithstudentsandteachingfacilitatedawelcomingclassroomenvironmentthatinvitedcriticalexplorationofthecoursematerialinconnectionwiththelifeexperiencesweallbroughttothetable.ChoosingtostudyDr.Wolf'spedagogicalstyleforthisprojectwasmotivatedbymyowninterestincriticalapproachestopedagogy,approachesIassumednecessitatedacentralfocusonstudent-centereddialogueasthewaytofostercriticalengagement.Initially,Iviewedtheprojectasanopportunitytolearnhowtofacilitateacriticaldiscussionwithalargenumberofstudents(over100)fromateacherwhosecriticalperspective,likemine,alsoinformsherpedagogy.Ilearnedduringthecourseofthisproject,however,thatmyownpresuppositionsaboutcriticalpedagogy—significantlyinfluencedbythoseassumptionsfoundinmuchoftheliterature--wereinneedof(critical)reconsideration.Inthefollowingsection,Iofferabriefsketchofthetheoreticalframeworkwithinwhichthosereconsiderationsaresituated.
CriticalRhetoric
RaymieMcKerrow(1989)describescriticalrhetoricasapracticeandtheoreticalenterpriseencompassingdivergentcriticalprojects
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