Writing Communities A Text with Readings

Writing Communities is an exciting new text and reader that connects students to neighborhoods and writing courses to communities. Part One introduces students to academic reading and writing skills and prompts them to examine how their communities influence their writing. Part Two then shows students how their academic reading and writing skills can serve as a bridge into working—and producing writing—with the community. The text promotes involvement in and advocacy of social issues such as education, housing, and cultural justice, and assignments provide students with opportunities to put concepts into practice, such as setting up community writing groups, hosting events, and producing publications. A rich variety of readings ranging from personal narratives and poetry to essays and educational scholarship help show students the myriad ways in which writing makes things happen in the world.

The skills students learn from Writing Communities will prepare them for any collaborative work they may take on—in any community they may be a part of—in college and beyond.

Preface for Instructors

A Letter to Students: "The First Assignment"

Part One: Reading and Writing Communities

1 Reading Strategies and Intellectual Communities

Writing Prompt: "Strange Angels"

What is An Intellectual?

Becoming an Intellectual

　　　　Checkpoint: Changing Communities

How to Read Like an Intellectual

Traditional Reading Strategies

Asking Why the Reading Was Assigned

Reading for Purpose

Reading for Evidence

Reading for Audience

Note-Taking Strategies

Annotating

Sample Student Annotations

Keeping a Reading Journal

Forming a Reading Group

Organic Reading Strategies

Listening to Everyday Speech

Recognizing Community Theories

Recognizing Community Insights

Recognizing Community Solutions

Making Connections

Double-Entry Journal

Audio Blog

Community Archives

Sample Student Annotations

Rundown: Strategies for Reading

Discussion Questions and Activities

2 Academic and Community Discourse

Writing Prompt: "Lessons Learned"

What is Academic Discourse?

　　　　Checkpoint: Inventing Discourse

Research Communities

Academic

Everyday

　　　　Checkpoint: Identifying Discourse Communities

Joining the Community

　　　　Checkpoint: Bringing Voices Together

Writing Like an Intellectual

Establishing a Research Focus

Organizing Research Materials

Understanding Your Research Community

Participating in the Research Community

The Writing Process

Pre-Writing

Drafting

Revising

Final Editing

Sample Intellectual Strategies

Bridging Academic Communities

Rundown: Strategies for Research and Writing

Discussion Questions and Activities

3 Writing Education: Moving from Home to College Communities

Antonio Gramsci, On Intellectuals

David Bartholomae, From Inventing the University

Andrew Delbanco, College: Who Went? Who Goes? Who Pays?

Various Authors, Excerpts from Pro(se)letariets

Harry Boyte and Elizabeth Hollander, Wingspread Declaration on the Civic Responsibilities of Research Universities

Writing with Communities: Projects

Project 1: Evidence of Intellectuals

Project 2: Writing across the Curriculum (and Beyond)

Project 3: What Was (and Is) Your College

Project 4: Performing Community

Project 5: The Students’ Right to Their Own Language

Project 6: The Forgotten Bottom Remembered

4 Writing Classrooms: Discovering Writing within Classroom Communities

Gerald Graff, The Problem Problem and Other Oddities of Academic Discourse

Carmen Kynard, From Candy Girls to Cyber Sista-Cypher

Chris Wilkey, Engaging Community Literacy through the Rhetorical Work of Education

Writing with Communities: Projects

Project 1: Crossing Boundaries

Project 2: Hush Harbors

Project 3: A Community of Classrooms

Project 4: Community Voices

Project 5: A Community of Intellectuals

Project 6: Activist Scholars

Part Two: Collaboration and Publishing

5 Community Partnerships

Writing Prompt: "Intersections"

Getting Started

　　　　Checkpoint: Finding Your Place

　　　　Checkpoint: Intruding

Learning about the Community

Researching the Neighborhood

　　　　Checkpoint: For Better or Worse

Engaging with Residents

"Story of Self" Workshop

Understanding Your Role in the Community Partnership

Defining Your Role

Limited Involvement

Sustained Involvement

Transformative Involvement

Rundown: Strategies for Community Partnerships

Discussion Questions and Activities

6 Establishing Community Writing Groups

Writing Prompt: "The Writing Machine"

Adams College: A Case Study for Community Writing Groups

Initiating Public School Partnerships

Creating a Tutoring Program in Schools

Using Writing Prompts

Responding to Student Writing

Creating a Multiple-Location Writing Project

Writing Prompts for Classroom Purposes

　　　　Checkpoint: Reading and Responding

Connecting to the Community

Fill in the Blank

Video Responses

Community Leaders

Connecting to College Students

Student Organizations as Respondents

Attracting Social Media Responses

Student Leaders

Connecting to College Administrators and Faculty

Faculty

Administration

Conducting Interviews: Frameworks and Strategies

Sponsoring Community Dialogue

The Mechanics of a Community Writing Group

Establishing a Writing Group

Holding an Opening Meeting

Meeting Place

Ground Rules

Reading Work in Groups

Criticism and Feedback

Your Role as a Student

Public Readings

Working for Publication

Rundown: Strategies for Community Writing Groups

Discussion Questions and Activities

7 Community Events and Community Publishing

Writing Prompt: "Coming Home"

Creating a Community Event

Working Closely with Your Community Partner

Setting Goals and Work Plans for the Event

Writing Prompts

Open Mic

Public Readings

Organization Tables

Kids’ Station

Volunteer Table

Food

Follow-Up

　　　　Checkpoint: Asking for Approval

Creating a Community Publication

Setting Publication Goals

Fundraising to Meet Goals

Generating Writing for the Publication

Permission to Print

Design

Editorial Decision-Making

The Question of Standard English

Print Publishing Considerations

Creating Book Files

International Standard Book Number (ISBN) and Barcodes

Print on Demand

Printing Timeframe

Distribution

Book Launch

A Final Note on Adams College

Rundown: Community Events and Community Publishing

Discussion Questions and Activities

8 Writing Place: Mapping Yourself Onto Local, National, and International Communities

Nedra Reynolds, Reading Landscapes and Walking the Streets and Maps of the Everyday: Habitual Pathways and Contested Places

Paula Mathieu, Writing in the Streets

Jesus Villicana Lopez, I Left Moroleon at Daybreak, with Great Sadness

Writing with Communities: Projects

Project 1: Listening to the Voice of Experience

Project 2: Becoming Visible

Project 3: Performing Citizenship

Project 4: From Our Eyes: A Community Tourbook

Project 5: Crossing Borders: A Community Publication

Project 6: Building Community

9 Writing Networks: Creating Links On and Off-Line

Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler, The Whole Is Great

James Paul Gee and Elizabeth R. Hayes, New Kinds of People and Relationships

Matt Mason, The Tao of Pirates

Wikileaks.org, About Wikileaks

Writing with Communities: Projects

Project 1: A University Wikileaks

Project 2: A Gaming Classroom

Project 3: Media Networks

Project 4: Networking Action

Project 5: Literate Lives

Project 6: Pirate Radio

10 Writing Identity: Moving in and across Boundaries

Wesley Yang, The Face of Seung-Hui Cho

Stacey Waite, Excerpts from Butch Geography

Gloria Anzaldúa, Tlilli, Tlapalli/The Path of the Red and Black Ink and La Consciencia de le Mestizo/Towards a New Consciousness

Jonathan Alexander, Queer Theory for Straight Students

Writing with Communities: Projects

Project 1: Bodily Encounters

Project 2: The Student Body

Project 3: Beyond Singular Identity Politics

Project 4: A Communal Body

Project 5: "This Is the Body of A..."

Project 6: Coming Together

Appendix of Key Terms

Index