The Social Construction of Language: Identity, Reality, and Trauma in American Composition Courses

<p>The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the ways in which instructors have the potential to reinforce or disrupt systems of oppression and power in the composition classroom through language, writing, and rhetoric. I draw upon pedagogical and rhetorical theorists, to analyze how language closely interacts with identity and how it impacts an individual's understanding and perception of reality. I consider how texts utilize language to communicate normative citizenship and challenge students' conceptions of the world around them, and how to teach from an anti-racist perspective that incorporates critical pedagogy and does not focus solely on minoritized communities’ trauma narratives. Chapter one connects the social construction of language and how it is utilized as an institutional tool to enforce systemic oppression and destabilize a student’s reality. Chapter two focuses on the inequity composition courses and universities perpetuate, and the potential pitfalls of overfocusing on trauma narratives in anti-racist pedagogies– ultimately revealing that an equitable classroom where students’ discourse communities are respected is the most optimal space to encourage critical literacy and lifelong inquiry.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

English

Year dc:date.available

2022

Author dc:creator

• Campos, Joselyne

• trauma
• pedagogy
• rhetoric
• composition
• critical
• literacy
• oppression
• diversity
• equity
• inclusion
• anti-racist
• Rhetoric and Composition

Repository record dc:identifier

https://commons.nmu.edu/theses/697

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:commons.nmu.edu:theses-1752