HEGEMONY IN THE WRITING CENTER

Layne VandenbergWriting 300

PAPER SLIPS

What do you find to be the most agitating aspect of writing assignments?

WHAT IS HEGEMONY? “Social, cultural, ideological, or economic influence

exerted by a dominant group” (Merriam Webster)

Is it a problem?

Solution: Critical Consciousness

WHEN DOES IT START/END?

BUT WHY DO I HAVE TO GO

TO SCHOOL

?

HOW CAN I MAKE THIS

PAPER EXACTLY

HOW THEY WANT IT?

IN THE WRITING CENTER Why?

University affiliation How?

Rhetorical Style: assumptions of the academic paper

IN THE TUTORIAL

Conforming to academic standards “Am I doing this right?”

“Am I following the correct format?”

“Does this sound okay [academic]?”

THE ACADEMIC PAPER

Assumptions Purpose Audience Values

Thesis Organization

“Right” vs. “Wrong”

WHY IS IT A PROBLEM?

Effects of hegemonic perpetuation Academia Home Unconscious decision-making Face value: “truth” Limits creativity Give something up Writer development “Singular notion of literacy” (Grimm)

TUTORING PRACTICES

QUESTIONING

No limitations? First instinct? Find anything interesting? Your interpretation?

TUTORING PRACTICES

QUESTION: “What do you want to say?” THOUGHT TRANSCRIPTION

Think aloud Free write

OVERALL GOAL

STUDENTS DO IT ON THEIR OWN

“Consciously learn how to tap the information through self-cueing or other methods” (Neff)

“Additive model… rather than a replacement model” (Curzan)

CONCLUSION

Not ridding of hegemony Awareness to increase # of choices Always question

REFERENCES

Bawarshi, Anis and Stephanie Pelkowski. “Postcolonialism and the Idea of a Writing Center.” The Writing Center Journal, 19.2 (1999): 41-58.Curzan, Anne. "Says Who? Teaching and Questioning the Rules of Grammar." Publications of the Modern Language Association of America 124.3, 2009.Grimm, Nancy. “The Regulatory Role of the Writing Center: Coming to Terms with a Loss of Innocence.” The Writing Center Journal 171. (1996): 5-29."Hegemony." Def. 2. Merriam Webster. Encyclopedia Britannica Company, n.d. Web. 1 Dec. 2012.

<http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hegemony>. Neff, Julie. “Learning Disabilities in the Writing Center.” The St. Martin’s Sourcebook for Writing Tutors. 4th ed. Eds. Christina Murphy and Steve Sherwood. Boston and New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011. 249-62. Print.