WP1: The Journey Begins With YOU
BACKGROUND:
What does it mean to (RE)CLAIM your EDUCATION, to DISMANTLE & REPLACE ideology with KNOWLEDGE? Are you an apprentice of INTELLECTUAL CURIOSITIES, or just going through the motions of some sort of expected role as student? These are hard questions to reflect on, but they are also the keys to becoming SCHOLARLASTICALLY FREE & SELF-ACTUALIZED; this is how you PRACTICE your FREEDOM.
At this point, we have read Chapter 1 of Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed, “Should Writers Use They Own English,” and listened to Ep.1 of the Writing Remix Podcast. We’ve also engaged with each other’s ideas, questions, CONTENT, and curiosities — ENGAGEMENT is the true ACTION of KNOWLEDGE.
We’re starting the JOURNEY to INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM and SELF-ACTUALIZATION right now, moving away from the canon, expectations, ideology, etc…
We are starting the Intellectual Autobiographical Analysis to figure out: WHAT, HOW, & WHY AM I THE INTELLECTUAL I AM RIGHT NOW?
Most of the time, EDUCATION is FORCED on students, on you, and you MUST comply or face consequences, consequences that are actually baseless and mean nothing. But we comply. The cultural critique Pierre Bourdieu scorches the education system, calling it for being out of touch with the modern world and STUCK in a nineteenth-century HEGEMONY:
“The educational system, whose scale of operations grew in extent and intensity throughout the nineteenth century, no doubt directly helped devalue popular modes of expression, dismissing them as ‘slang’ and ‘gibberish’” (Bourdieu 49).
This is still true in the 21st century, which is why the state of so-called education in America is in dire need of NEW IDEAS, APPROACHES, TEXTS, etc.
This quote from bell hooks’ book (one of my favorite people, academics, writers, etc.) Teaching to Transgress is going to be the ROOT of our course and the spark for this writing project:
“This is one of the joys of education as the practice of freedom, for it allows students to assume responsibility for their choices […] Engaged pedagogy necessarily values student expression” (hooks 19–20).
That’s what we’re doing this semester: PRACTICING FREEDOM. So, we have to start somewhere.
WRITING TASK:
This writing project, and every project from here on out, isn’t a STATIC PROJECT. You won’t just be writing; you’ll be CULTIVATING an AUTONOMOUS INTELLECTUAL IDENTITY, building an UNDERSTANDING of HOW, WHY, and WHAT you learn, and ACTIVATING a space of ACTION in order to truly CLAIM your EDUCATION.
You’re starting the JOURNEY of developing your INTELLECTUAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY. So, this is the first step.
KNOWLEDGE SEEKING is a NON-CONFORMIST exercise, so think about LEADING with your CURIOSITY, INTERESTS, and VALUES as an INTELLECTUAL BEING. This might bring you outside your “major,” identity expectation, sociopolitical ideologies, etc.
For the duration of this assignment, you’ll be engaged in EXAMINING some sort of NON-CONFORMIST KNOWLEDGE SEEKING and CULTIVATION that you engage in that’s outside of the EDUCATION SYSTEM you’re used to.
Essentially, you’re tasked with developing a writing project that EXAMINES HOW YOU LEARN ON YOUR OWN and WHERE and HOW and WHY and WHAT you GAIN INTELLECTUALLY from this KNOWLEDGE SEEKING exercise.
This can mean A LOT of different things:
• It can be musical.
• It can be visual art.
• It can be some sort of non-academic writing.
• It can be conversations.
• Podcasts.
• ETC….
The most important thing to remember is to focus on the HOW, WHY, and BECAUSE of this ANALYSIS. Sure, you find the VALUE in this practice or person, or text, or whatever it is, but you’re writing for an AUDIENCE. Let them IN on the SECRET(S). Make it IMPACTFUL!
PROMPT:
Aside from going to school, I want you to think about the texts, the people, and/or the activities/experiences you feel have created the most MEANINGFUL KNOWLEDGE for you.
You got that? Good.
Now, HOW has this GESTURE of MEANINGFUL KNOWLEDGE SEEKING & GATHERING influenced your PERSONAL INTELLECTUAL JOURNEY and/or IDENTITY?
In many ways, this is an identity question, so if you’re compelled to discuss identity go right ahead. If not, okay too, but allow yourself the space to go into those deeper maybe ignored areas of your ideas. Follow your instinct. BE FEARLESS, & SPEAK TO YOUR AUDIENCE, not me.
The last thing to remember, there is always an implied WHY question in these prompts. You can’t write and dig deeply into these projects without the WHY leading to the BECAUSE.
Stay focused on the details and explaining these ideas fully. Be INVESTED in your words. Discuss how your ideas play out as you see them, or participate in them, in the real world.
Lastly, because you’ll be engaged in NON-CONFORMITY, you can ALTER the “essay” format as you see fit, but ONLY if it ADDS TO THE PROJECT. Don’t just mess with the format because it might SHOCK the AUDIENCE. You’re TEACHING the audience, so EVERY CHOICE should ENHANCE their ENGAGEMENT. We’ll talk more about this in class.
AS FOR THE WRITING PROCESS:
During this first writing project, you’ll be exploring writing as process-oriented. We’ll focus on building strong critical thinking skills, invention exercises, and composition skills. As a group, we’ll engage a variety of exercises to aid idea generation for our projects, breakdown our initial ideas into more specific and compelling topics, and build plans to successfully develop VALUABLE CONTRIBUTIONS to the discourse on EDUCATION and INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT.
This section will move you away from the formulaic boundaries of the “5-paragraph” model so you begin solidifying a unique writing VOICE.
Don’t Forget To:
• Be Specific:
No general summaries or sweeping clichés. This is an exercise in critical thinking, so the DETAILS are imperative.
• Define Your Terms:
Don’t assume your audience knows what you are talking about. Just because it is commonplace to you, does not mean that your readers have seen, heard of, gone to, etc… exactly what you are talking about. Use your writing as teachable moments. Your readers are looking to you for information, so don’t hold out.
• Go For The Jugular:
This was the best advice I ever received about writing. This does not mean to be hurtful or to smear someone’s character. Rather, you should always be writing towards the MAIN VEIN of your argument. There is no time for vagueness. Attention spans are getting shorter and shorter, and your readers want to know NOW. Cut straight to your points and spend time explaining.
• Be Patient & Embrace The Process:
This essay, and each one afterward, will be deconstructing what you’ve done in the past when it came to writing. Essentially, you will be “unlearning” what you’ve been taught to do, so don’t resist the process. Embrace each step, and stay present in each step along the way. Also, I want you to be redefining these processes to fit your specific and unique style, VOICE, and writing practice. Breathe often and deeply. Permit yourself to be imperfect.
• Time Management Is Key:
Because you will be writing in a process, you must develop your time management skills. Have some sort of planner system in place. Write all dates down immediately. Check your calendar daily. We will be talking about time management, organization, and accountability all semester. Prepare to nerd out.
• What’s The SO WHAT?:
This is the key to your essays. Why? Well, because your readers/audience need a reason to stay engaged in your language. Readers want to walk away from your work having learned something. They should be taking a bit of you with them when they finish. Their initial reaction to your writing should not be, “Yeah, and so what?” This means you did not do your job. You need to know the SO WHAT or know your ENDGAME going into the piece. What will be the main takeaway or the multiple takeaways? Know them and make sure they are clear.
- WHYs create BECAUSEs:
Whenever you feel stuck and don’t know where to head in your discussion, just ask your last idea: WHY? Once you ask that question, you will be forced to answer with: BECAUSE. This “BECAUSE” leads you straight into explanation and reasoning. This is critical thinking. Keep doing this until you’ve beaten your writer’s block.
DETAILS:
• Length: 1000–1500 words
• Conference Dates: The week of 2/1/2021
• Due Date: 2/7/2021 by 11:59 p.m. with the hashtag #WP1Spring2021
