| This dissertation examines the use of radical pedagogies in composition courses, specifically a junior-level composition course, Women and Writing. The project outlines a conceptual framework of cultural, critical, and pedagogical consciousness for radical teaching in composition. The project analyzes student responses to courses that ask students to discuss and write on topics that they may see as "controversial" or "too political." Through case studies, the project addresses whether or not student expectations for writing instruction, as illustrated in a Women and Writing course, can be reconciled with a teacher's desire to teach writing as a political and social act. To teach writing in such a way requires greater understanding of students' backgrounds, self-perceived identities, and educational desires. The author terms this understanding "cultural consciousness.'' Cultural consciousness is complemented by pedagogical consciousness---a constant, self reflexive reevaluation of one's radical teaching practices. Faced with the possibility that radical teaching is incompatible with composition instruction, the study suggests that it need not be if radical composition teachers negotiate between the expectations of their practice and the practical writing concerns of their students. |
