Ebook225 pages5 hours
Literacy, Sexuality, Pedagogy: Theory and Practice for Composition Studies
Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
1/5
()
About this ebook
Despite its centrality to much of contemporary personal and public discourse, sexuality remains infrequently discussed in most composition courses, and in our discipline at large. Moreover, its complicated relationship to discourse, to the very languages we use to describe and define our worlds, is woefully understudied in our discipline. Discourse about sexuality, and the discourse of sexuality, surround us—circulating in the news media, on the Web, in conversations, and in the very languages we use to articulate our interactions with others and our understanding of ourselves. It forms a core set of complex discourses through which we approach, make sense of, and construct a variety of meanings, politics, and identities.
In Literacy, Sexuality, Pedagogy, Jonathan Alexander argues for the development of students' "sexual literacy." Such a literacy is not just concerned with developing fluency with sexuality as a "hot" topic, but with understanding the intimate interconnectedness of sexuality and literacy in Western culture. Using the work of scholars in queer theory, sexuality studies, and the New Literacy Studies, Alexander unpacks what he sees as a crucial--if often overlooked--dimension of literacy: the fundamental ways in which sexuality has become a key component of contemporary literate practice, of the stories we tell about ourselves, our communities, and our political investments.
Alexander then demonstrates through a series of composition exercises and writing assignments how we might develop students' understanding of sexual literacy. Examining discourses of gender, heterosexuality, and marriage allows students (and instructors) a critical opportunity to see how the languages we use to describe ourselves and our communities are saturated with ideologies of sexuality. Understanding how sexuality is constructed and deployed as a way to "make meaning" in our culture gives us a critical tool both to understand some of the fundamental ways in which we know ourselves and to challenge some of the norms that govern our lives. In the process, we become more fluent with the stories that we tell about ourselves and discover how normative notions of sexuality enable (and constrain) narrations of identity, culture, and politics. Such develops not only our understanding of sexuality, but of literacy, as we explore how sexuality is a vital, if vexing, part of the story of who we are.
In Literacy, Sexuality, Pedagogy, Jonathan Alexander argues for the development of students' "sexual literacy." Such a literacy is not just concerned with developing fluency with sexuality as a "hot" topic, but with understanding the intimate interconnectedness of sexuality and literacy in Western culture. Using the work of scholars in queer theory, sexuality studies, and the New Literacy Studies, Alexander unpacks what he sees as a crucial--if often overlooked--dimension of literacy: the fundamental ways in which sexuality has become a key component of contemporary literate practice, of the stories we tell about ourselves, our communities, and our political investments.
Alexander then demonstrates through a series of composition exercises and writing assignments how we might develop students' understanding of sexual literacy. Examining discourses of gender, heterosexuality, and marriage allows students (and instructors) a critical opportunity to see how the languages we use to describe ourselves and our communities are saturated with ideologies of sexuality. Understanding how sexuality is constructed and deployed as a way to "make meaning" in our culture gives us a critical tool both to understand some of the fundamental ways in which we know ourselves and to challenge some of the norms that govern our lives. In the process, we become more fluent with the stories that we tell about ourselves and discover how normative notions of sexuality enable (and constrain) narrations of identity, culture, and politics. Such develops not only our understanding of sexuality, but of literacy, as we explore how sexuality is a vital, if vexing, part of the story of who we are.
Author
Jonathan Alexander
Jonathan Alexander is a writer living in Southern California, where he is also professor of English at the University of California, Irvine. He is the author, co-author, or co-editor of twenty-two books. His nonfiction has been widely published, especially in the Los Angeles Review of Books, and his critical memoir trilogy (Creep, Bullied, and Dear Queer Self) has won several awards.
Read more from Jonathan Alexander
On Multimodality: New Media in Composition Studies Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Stroke Book: The Diary of a Blindspot Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to Literacy, Sexuality, Pedagogy
Related ebooks
Queerly Centered: LGBTQA Writing Center Directors Navigate the Workplace Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsActivist WPA, The: Changing Stories About Writing and Writers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTransforming Ethos: Place and the Material in Rhetoric and Writing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMapping Racial Literacies: College Students Write about Race and Segregation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsI Hope I Join the Band: Narrative, Affiliation, and Antiraciset Rhetoric Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFriendship: Development, Ecology, and Evolution of a Relationship Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRe/Orienting Writing Studies: Queer Methods, Queer Projects Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsInscrutable Belongings: Queer Asian North American Fiction Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBelow the Surface: Talking with Teens about Race, Ethnicity, and Identity Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGenre And The Invention Of The Writer: Reconsidering the Place of Invention in Composition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Critical Sexual Literacy: Forecasting Trends in Sexual Politics, Diversity and Pedagogy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGale Researcher Guide for: Karen Finley and Performance Art Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTelling About Society Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Compelled to Write: Alternative Rhetoric in Theory and Practice Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPedagogy: The Question of Impersonation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Problem of Assessment in Art and Design Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsReading Chinese Fortune Cookie: The Making of Chinese American Rhetoric Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsConceptions of Literacy: Graduate Instructors and the Teaching of First-Year Composition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSelf+Culture+Writing: Autoethnography for/as Writing Studies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTransforming English Studies: New Voices in an Emerging Genre Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStories of Becoming: Demystifying the Professoriate for Graduate Students in Composition and Rhetoric Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Text and Beyond: Essays in Literary Linguistics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEducating Scholars: Doctoral Education in the Humanities Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Teaching Archive: A New History for Literary Study Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRhetoric, Through Everyday Things Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMixed Race 3.0: Risk and Reward in the Digital Age Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCurriculum: Contemporary Art Goes to School Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWriting New Media: Theory and Applications for Expanding the Teaching of Composition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Democratic Art: The New Deal's Influence on American Culture Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Work of Teaching Writing: Learning from Fiction, Film, and Drama Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Teaching Arts & Humanities For You
French For Dummies Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Guitar Practice Guide: A Practice Guide for Guitarists and other Musicians Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Summary of The Art of Seduction: by Robert Greene - A Comprehensive Summary Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTeaching With Graphic Novels Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSpanish For Dummies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Italian All-in-One For Dummies Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5German For Dummies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Italian For Dummies Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Spanish Word Games For Dummies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrench All-in-One For Dummies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Arabic For Dummies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Arkansas: A Narrative History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary of Anthony Weston's A Rulebook for Arguments Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHebrew For Dummies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHabits of a Successful Music Education Student: A Comprehensive Curriculum for Band and String Methods Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsArkansas: A Concise History Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Guitar for Kids: First Steps in Learning to Play Guitar with Audio & Video Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Ways Children Learn Music: An Introduction and Practical Guide to Music Learning Theory Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Spanish Grammar For Dummies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGuitar Chords for Beginners: A Beginners Guitar Chord Book with Open Chords and More Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Band Director's Book of Secrets Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5French Essentials For Dummies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lord of the Flies Classroom Questions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTeaching Instrumental Music (Second Edition): Developing the Complete Band Program Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhispering Worlds: Bilingual Japanese Short Stories for Language Learners Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsClassroom Music Games and Activities Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Power of Playful Learning: The Green Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPhilosophy for Kids: 40 Fun Questions That Help You Wonder about Everything! Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Read Literature Like a Professor: For Kids Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5At Play: Teaching Teenagers Theater Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Reviews for Literacy, Sexuality, Pedagogy
Rating: 0.5 out of 5 stars
1/5
1 rating0 reviews
Book preview
Literacy, Sexuality, Pedagogy - Jonathan Alexander
Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1