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Bag lady you gon hurt your back |
This is a class with a writing emphasis. There are no exams or quizzes, because you will be writing too much to have time for that. Furthermore, it makes no difference if you can pass an exam on African American rhetoric if you have not challenged anti-Blackness and injustice like the Black rhetors we are studying. In this class, write like your life depends on it.... but do it with some style and grace.
Writing critically with and from multiple, informed sources is perhaps the single, most common trademark for the kind of writing and thinking that is expected of you in the academy. You will do a lot of that in this class. However, this does NOT mean:
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that you write about things you don’t care about,
that you write as if you sound like an encyclopedia/wikipedia, that you omit your own voice and perspective, that you cannot be creative and energetic, that you must sound like the type of person who might wear wool/plaid jackets with suede patches on the elbows in order to be taken seriously, that you cannot be everything that makes up your multiple selves, that you cannot be Hip Hop, R&B, Soul, Bomba, Dancehall, Soca, Metal, Bachata, EDM, or Rock-N-Roll, that you cannot have some fun with it! |
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You do not give up who you are to be an academic writer; on the contrary, you take who are even MORE seriously. Those are the kinds of academic writers we will read in this class; those are the kinds of academic writers we are striving to become. These are models and trailblazers worth following.
One of the greatest compliments that you can receive in African American culture--- especially for artists likes cooks and musicians--- is to be someone who can put some stank on it! If we really listen and hear what this expression means, then we can arrive at some alternatives to the kinds of texts that schools usually teach and promote.
Putting some stank on your writing is not about following the rules and delivering a nice, tidy, clean product to a teacher. It is about a kind of risk-taking, full bodied-ness, and flair that you have with your craft that comes from showing your audience the fullness of your energy and person.
Now this is not to say that everyone will like your writing, but that's not your goal. When you write, you are not acting as a domestic servant who caters to everyone and makes them comfortable. Let's take the opening of this webpage--- all the stuff before the dividing line above. When I first Included those words on my syllabus, I was VERY unsupported in the place where I worked. The person/people who had a problem with my words and my vibe ain't my concern though so I ain't erase or delete nuthin. I am saying what I mean and meaning what I say... I even made a video (at the above right) to go with my thoughts here despite the naysayers.
It's your time now. Write for real audiences... for real purposes and impact... and put some stank on it!
Putting some stank on your writing is not about following the rules and delivering a nice, tidy, clean product to a teacher. It is about a kind of risk-taking, full bodied-ness, and flair that you have with your craft that comes from showing your audience the fullness of your energy and person.
Now this is not to say that everyone will like your writing, but that's not your goal. When you write, you are not acting as a domestic servant who caters to everyone and makes them comfortable. Let's take the opening of this webpage--- all the stuff before the dividing line above. When I first Included those words on my syllabus, I was VERY unsupported in the place where I worked. The person/people who had a problem with my words and my vibe ain't my concern though so I ain't erase or delete nuthin. I am saying what I mean and meaning what I say... I even made a video (at the above right) to go with my thoughts here despite the naysayers.
It's your time now. Write for real audiences... for real purposes and impact... and put some stank on it!
