Antiracist Writing Centers

Seeking Your Input on the IWCA SIG on Antiracist Activism

2010-10-10T21:09:00.000-05:00

Dear Friends,

The IWCA SIG on Antiracist Activism will be meeting at the upcoming IWCA/NCPTW Conference in Baltimore this fall. We have been meeting since 2007 and would like to gather feedback from participants (and future participants) about the work and leadership of the SIG. If you have a few moments, please click on the link below to answer a few questions. (If you do not see a link, you can cut and paste the address into your web browser.) Your answers will be anonymous, and the entire survey should take less than 5 minutes to complete.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/W2VFZCL

In solidarity,

Moira Ozias, Beth Godbee and Frankie Condon

What Could Racism Look Like in our Writing Centers?

2009-03-13T15:32:00.002-05:00

As we prepare for the upcoming 2009 ECWCA Conference, we're considering a new approach to Antiracism activism.

So we have to ask:

What could racism look like in our writing centers?

Are We a "Nation of Cowards"?

2009-02-21T23:00:00.004-06:00

While I'm not a fan of opinion columns, I think the summary provided through the NY Times link is a source for discussion.

Thoughts?

The Opinionator

Are We All Plagued with the Inability to Self-Organize?

2009-02-16T20:38:00.002-06:00

As an undergraduate writing center tutor, I recently (October 2008) had the chance to present a special interest group workshop (along with six other peer tutors) at the IWCA/NCPTW 2008 Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. We presented our experiences practicing Antiracist Activism at our writing center. While I could (and will soon do so) respond to the complicated variety of resistance we faced, I’d rather empathize with the invisibleness of most social justice work.

Our workshop was plagued, among others, with poor planning. Multiple presentations of social justice presentations, panels, or workshops, occurred at the same time as our own. Rather than coming together as a coalition of tutors interested in social justice, we were systematically separated and categorized individually as a result of our diversity in presentations.

While we could form special interest groups and committees forever into infinity, I’m concerned that we’re going nowhere politically. We are all marginalized voices and we need to stand together as a collective voice to respond to the political majority. Otherwise, we will become white noise to each other silencing ourselves through separate practices.

Perhaps the most difficult, most pressing issue in front of us is to decide how to effectively organize.

Keep writing!

Linking up

2009-01-28T10:44:00.002-06:00

Hello everyone!

Since our blog is lucky enough to have followers from different universities, I was hoping that everyone could post a link (which I will then add to the blog's resource section) to their writing center's website. I think it is important to remember that as tutors, Directors, and Assistant Directors devoted to social justice work, we are each others most important resource.

Thanks!

2009-01-27T17:49:00.001-06:00

It is a new year.

This is my first semester away from a Writing Center. I want to know: how is it going? Have our antiracist conversations started yet? What are we doing OUTSIDE of our centers to promote antiracism?

Link: Antiracism Peer Tutoring Praxis -- Antiracist Writing Centers

2008-12-12T09:55:00.000-06:00

http://antiracistwritingcenters.blogspot.com/

A Reflection on Racial Language in Peer Tutoring Practice.

2008-12-04T23:50:00.000-06:00

As a transfer student, I came to my current writing center with one year’s worth of experience. To me, it was already apparent that I walked into an important conversation. And it was at my current institution that I first became aware of Antiracist Activism. That doesn’t mean that I was a bad tutor, but it did mean that I could be better.

One of the greatest hurdles I had learning to realize—not apply—Antiracist Activism was defining race. I confused race with culture and from there, it was easy to form assumptions of group behavior leading to me stereotyping my peers. While I may never know what is in a writer’s head or in their heart, I do know what I say to them. Given the established constraints of a typical tutoring session, I can not afford to alienate writers during our sessions. And so, I looked for racist assumptions or speech, and I first found them in me.

In particular, it was these three words: exotic, foreign, and ethnic. The problem was not so much the words put forth, but it was the meaning I pushed behind them. As a white male tutor, I casually used these terms to mean one thing: non-white experiences. Films, foods, people—it didn’t matter to me then, but I didn’t understand that either. I soon realized, by assuming that the peerness I share with writers is overarching and deep, I am actually projecting internal racism and I am potentially silencing writers. Without realizing it at first, I associated my peerness with my whiteness.

Through months of reflections in addition to these difficult—although worthy—conversations with everyone who would listen, I began to develop something useful—a sensitivity. But this awareness was only a first step. And dialogue was only a second step. This is a process of unlearning that will continue for the rest of my life.

In yesterday’s Special Interest Group on Antiracist Activism, we agreed that an action of no action is still an action. That was deep. It is useless to talk about topics like Antiracism if we do nothing with it. This is ongoing work for us, and we must not leave a single assumption unchallenged.

CFP: State convention on "English . . . for a Change!"

2008-11-28T13:38:00.002-06:00

Check out this conference call for proposals (CFP):
http://orgs.uww.edu/wcte/convention.htm

I'm excited that the Wisconsin Council of Teachers of English (WCTE) are organizing their 2009 conference around social change and asking for breakout sessions that "present techniques of anti-racist, anti-biased teaching practices."

The state convention is in Milwaukee, so if you're in the area (Wisconsin, Illinois), would you like to collaborate on one or more proposals about anti-racist peer tutoring practice?

Beth

Photos from the 2008 IWCA/NCPTW Conference

2008-11-28T13:28:00.002-06:00

**Pictured Above**
Participants in the 2008 IWCA/NCPTW SIG on Antiracist Activism

More than 50 people attended the meeting of the SIG on Antiracist Activism in Las Vegas.

You may see more photos from the SIG meeting and other breakout sessions by clicking --
http://dandries.com/gallery/IWCALasVeges08

So excited about continuing the conversations from Las Vegas through this blog! -- Beth

Link to the CCCC's blog on diversity

2008-11-14T15:35:00.002-06:00

Hi everyone,
I've really found reading this blog stimulating. Thanks to all for your contributions.

I wanted to be sure that you're all aware that the CCCC sponsors a blog on diversity. Here's a link to the most current post by Morris Young from the University of Wisconsin:

http://cccc-blog.blogspot.com/2008/11/literacies-and-identities-shifting.html

I think you'll particularly find his thoughts on the problematic nature of the term "diversity" interesting.

Anti-racism and Multiculturalism

2008-11-13T19:09:00.001-06:00

I want to continue talking about resistance to anti-racist work, but in a broader context. In a fascinating ethnographic study, sociologist Amanda Lewis examines the dynamics of race in a predominantly white community. While many in the community subscribe to a color-blind ideology, in which people are seen “as individuals, not as races,” Lewis finds that racial formations continue to pervade social interactions. We need to stop thinking of race as a problem that only affects communities of color. As Hazel Carby notes, “We should be arguing that everyone in this social order has been constructed as a racialized subject.” Discussions of race need to move beyond a binary framework in which blackness and whiteness are diametrically opposed, where whiteness is neutral and blackness is other. Rather, we must work to uncover the ways in which whiteness, blackness, and other racial formations are constituted alongside and amongst each other.

One of the ways in which we can complicate our discussions of race to account for the interrelationality of racial formations is to distinguish between multiculturalism and anti-racism. While multiculturalism has taken on different forms in the past few decades, a basic tenant of multiculturalist discourse has centered on the issue of representation. For example, the inclusion of Toni Morrison and Amy Tan on literature syllabi, or the hiring of a handful of people of color in a workplace has come to signal the diversification of institutions. We are led to believe that race is no longer a barrier to success, and that America, this land of golden opportunity and infinite wealth, defines itself as a celebration of different cultures and viewpoints. Yet, simple inclusion does nothing to question why exclusion occurs in the first place. Race lines may be crossed, yes, but the walls of social and political institutions that continue to exclude people of color have not been dismantled. Let me be clear, I am not implying that multiculturalism is useless or misguided. What I want to suggest is that multiculturalism is not a means to an end, but rather one step in a continuous, ongoing struggle for social justice and political equality.

This is where anti-racism comes into the picture. It is here that we must move beyond a framework in which issues of race are relegated only to people of color. It is here that effective, goal-oriented dialogue can happen, not just with each other, but also with ourselves. Frankie Condon writes, “Anti-racism work necessitates both inward or private reflection aimed at personal transformation and an outward, public turn that is at once both humble and determined and is aimed at productive engagement in collective and institutional transformation.” Each one of us, regardless of our racial backgrounds, has something to offer this discussion, has something vital to share in this rewriting of social interactions.

Greetings from Oregon State University's Writing Center

2008-11-08T13:09:00.003-06:00

Hi there,
I attended the powerful, thought-provoking session that the group of tutors who are sponsoring this blog presented at the recent IWCA conference. I was blown away by the thoughtfulness, sophistication, and passion of these presentations. At the end of the session, the first of the many thoughts that our discussion stimulated was this: "I feel new hope for the future." Thank goodness that hope was confirmed by the recent presidential election.

Those of you at the UIC writing center might like to know that I discussed your presentation at our staff meeting last Thursday. The issues you raised generated an intense conversation at our meeting, one that will continue for some time I'm sure.

One issue that came up--raised by my colleagues Robin Pappas and Dennis Bennett's summary of another related session at the conference--was how to deal with essays that the tutor or writing assistant feels crosses an ethical line. One example was a student who brought in an essay arguing that white privilege does not exist. Another was an essay advocating torture in certain circumstances.

One thing we noticed during our discussion was that the white writing assistants tended to feel that they could draw upon traditional academic norms of evidence and argument to work with student writers on these topics. After all, those making academic arguments needs to look at both sides of an issue, provide credible evidence, consider audience, etc.

However, many writing assistants of color felt that they would have to, as it were, check their identities at the door to work with writers making arguments like these. Our staff meeting is only an hour, so we were just beginning to discuss what significance these different responses might have.

Lots to think about.

In closing I want to thank you for powerful, stimulating presentations. I'm so glad that you are in the process of posting them to this blog. Thank you.

I also want to ask a question. A number of our writing assistants were excited to learn about your blog. Of course if they have a google account they can comment on your blog, but unless you invite them to join as authors they can't initiate a post.

Are you comfortable with my forwarding the email invitation that you sent to me to the listserv we host for our writing assistants? I'll check back on this blog to see if there's a response, or you could email me at lisa.ede@oregonstate.edu.

Thanks again for initiating this important work, which I know is a continuation of earlier efforts on the part of your writing center.

All best,
Lisa Ede
Director, Center for Writing and Learning
Oregon State University

A few questions raised from the SIG

2008-11-07T13:31:00.002-06:00

I would like to open up the questions posed by Frankie, Beth, and Moira in their SIG last week:

Why are you committed to racial justice?

What stakes do you have in anti-racism?

Also, in response to the discussion, several questions came up:

Is everyone supposed to feel comfortable (I believe this is in reference to talking about anti-racism in writing centers), and does comfort equally care for all of us?

How does whiteness shape our professional organizations and writing centers?

How can we create mentoring spaces--for both directors and tutors--for anti-racist praxis?

On the ideal: ethical self, ethical writing center

2008-11-06T20:57:00.002-06:00

In response to empathetic expressions that result from challenges brought to the individual's ideal of an ethical self, as Priscilla had mentioned, it seems that for the feminist and antiracist writing center, the goal is similar, to strive for that ideal: to be feminist, to be antiracist, to be just from every angle, and to create and maintain a peer-to-peer environment.

So if a peer-to-peer environment is equivalent to the ideal ethical self, the implication is that challenges brought to the peer-based writing center may be met with similar emotional responses, such as crying or anger, all of which express some kind of resistance and ultimately shuts down conversations about subjects like race, which have the potential to be productive. And how do centers respond to these challenges? How should they respond?

In Sarita Srivastava's twenty-year research within Canadian feminist organizations, she has found that "in the face of antiracist challenges, many white feminists may feel that it is their self-image--as good, implicitly nonracist people--and particularly their shared moral identity as feminists that is under siege" (30).

So this self-image, this moral identity, not only directs the conversation back to the individual, and often, back to the white individual, but it also hinders us from moving towards organizational change. And if we are talking about creating this set of ideals, does it suggest that we become conscious not of what's "good" and what's "bad," but how we can avoid appearing bad?

For example, in some sessions, I've encountered writers who had to write about a subject like disability, and they will use language that they believe sounds "right," that sounds "good," but at the same time, that language reveals their hidden biases.

In one particular session I had recently, a writer had to support the building of a memorial for the disabled, and he wrote that the able and the disabled are all equal, that they deserve to be treated equally, but at the same time, he was writing for the able, and he wrote that the able can still help out the disabled and raise awareness for them without bringing out their checkbooks. He wrote this as if building a memorial could solve discrimination towards the disabled.

And as Victor Villanueva points out: is this language Politically Correct, or is it a Policed Conversation? And how does it influence the conversation within a session? How could I have disassembled the writer's sentences about the disabled to show him where I thought I saw a conflict? And when this applies to race or class or gender, how should we approach non-P.C. undertones masked by P.C. language?

Srivastava writes that in order to achieve the ideal space, or "the good place," that "social movements require a vision not only of a community of individuals but also of shared ideas, morals, and ethics" (34). And going back to the creation of an ethical self and the creation of a peer-to-peer writing center, the thought of those two seems impossible. Though, with a writing center that tries to create diversity and to continuously improve, I suppose it is possible for us to try.

Priscilla's Presentation

2008-11-06T16:19:00.000-06:00

Sometimes the ultimate goal of the antiracist writing center is to achieve diversity. So there’s diversity among the tutors and they’re continuing to talk about race. Goal accomplished, right? Well, if we are truly to engage in critical reflection, we must ask ourselves who feels comfortable contributing to these conversations? In my experience as a Puerto Rican peer tutor, I often find that the discussions about race exclude or discourage minority voices. I know I was definitely resistant to talking about race. What is it about the antiracist writing center that discourages minority tutors from voicing their opinions and sharing their experiences? Why doesn’t the antiracist writing center community represent the very people who are most discriminated against?

The answers to these questions will vary for every writing center, but perhaps the minority tutor’s reluctance to speak stems from the fact that many race conversations inevitably turn into conversations about whiteness, a topic that most minority students are all to familiar with. Minority tutors already know which color dictates who is privileged and who is not. The problem then becomes that in one of the topics they have the most experience with, race, they end up talking about whiteness and about white antiracist activists’ experience with minorities. To further isolate and discourage the minority tutor, most of the antiracist literature is written predominantly by white authors, so minority tutors must content themselves with being talked about.

There are numerous other ways minorities may be silenced during a race conversation. For example, empathetic expressions, such as crying during race related conversations, not only discourages and possibly offends minority tutors, these expressions also shut down productive conversations. As Sarita Srivastava notes in her article “‘You’re calling me a racist?’ The Moral and Emotional Regulation of Antiracism and Feminism,” “empathetic expressions often revolve around an individual’s moral self image instead of institutional change” (44). To spare the emotional individual, the conversation is toned down, derailed and stopped indefinitely. Emotional outbursts, therefore, divert the focus and purpose of race discussions away from race and toward comforting the individual.

For the antiracist writing center, it is also important to examine the ways in which the race discussion changes or adds to our definitions of peerness. Can peerness exist if there are members of the community who are being silenced? Srivastava echoes Benedict Anderson when she states “the making of… [a] community requires not only imagining sameness and communion but also forgetting difference and oppression” (39). To forget difference and oppression is to deny the experiences of the individual. Yet, to belong to a writing center community and to be considered a peer, minority tutors, because of the various reasons previously mention, are silenced. In other words, the forgetting of difference and oppression is impossible and detrimental to the idea of peerness.

With all the roadblocks that may or may not discourage minority tutors from participating in antiracism, we have to acknowledge that subjects such as whiteness must be talked about and that emotional responses may follow. After all, we cannot be unfeeling, especially when we share our experiences with race. The antiracist writing center must allow whiteness to be discussed, but we cannot stop the conversation there. We have to push past the controversial and past the uncomfortable in order to move toward actually effecting change. More importantly, we MUST always be conscious of who is contributing to the conversation and, in turn, we must devote ourselves to thinking of ways to encourage minority tutors to contribute and to voice their opinions.

Welcome!

2008-11-05T12:06:00.001-06:00

For those of you who are viewing this blog for the first time, please note that it is still a work in progress. Beginning today, the members of the Antiracist Writing Center panel/workshop (who presented on Friday at 10:45) will be posting their presentations soon. Until then, feel free to start asking questions, start conversations and continue the exploration the role and definition of antiracism in Writing Centers.