Social Reform and WAC/WID

Now that the definitions are out of the way, let's discuss some practical applications and ramifications of Writing across the Curriculum. One aspect that I hope readers will notice in the following posts is how well WAC interacts with other compositional pedagogies. Process pedagogy--the idea that writing is a skill that improves via practice and revision--is an underlying concept of the pedagogy. However, this approach is not the only one that pairs well with WAC. Today's post will focus on how WAC interacts with Critical Pedagogy.

Critical Pedagogy, in its simplest form, revolves around the idea that writing is political and can be used to change the world. Writing can serve as an act of social justice. At its most radical, it would turn the classroom into a democracy where students determine the assignments, the syllabus, the readings and more. At the other end of the continuum, this approach involves students writing about current social issues or issues that affect their lives.

The reason I bring this up as our first example is because of what is going on in Baltimore, my current home, right now. Students will want to talk about the issue, and it is one that has been percolating across the some time. If we, as instructors, can refocus that energy in a way that explores the issues objectively and gives our students an outlet while also enhancing and embracing intellectual curiosity, we are preparing these young men to interact with the world and become our leaders of tomorrow.

The question, then, is threefold:

• How do we approach writing about social issues in a composition classroom?
• How do we encourage learning the language of multiple discourses in a composition classroom using social issues as the point of origin?
• How do we approach social issues within the disciplines while teaching writing in the disciplines?

 Before I offer my approaches, I'd like to know what you think. Please comment below with your answers to the questions. In the next post, I'll offer how I think we can tackle these questions effectively in the classrooms.