Olivia Fitzpatrick
Introduction to Writing Studies
Praxis Assignment 4: Reconcile
March 3, 2019
Reconcile : using readings from the course and your own interests, experiences, and expertise, create a threshold concept for writing studies. You might review the threshold concepts we have learned, then choose one to build on or expand, or perhaps you might notice something missing but relevant to the fields we discuss.
Naming What We Know’s third threshold concept of Writing Studies details how writing both enacts and creates identities and ideologies. Because of this, it resonates with an intersectional desire to simultaneously describe and transform the world through critical analysis. Each subconcept under Concept 3 adds to describe how intersectionality plays a role in writing, stemming from the author and continuing through the writing process. Subconcept 3.1 links writing to identity but expresses more about “the roles writing has in the construction of self” than how the self constructs writing (50). 3.2 understands that each writer is unique and is thus a combination of a set of features but goes onto tell us that writing “anticipates and… enforces an identity”, which does not explicitly lay out how intersectionality plays a role (53). 3.5 reflects the same thinking as well. Naming What We Know does not add a subconcept on or even directly name intersectionality in writing. I, instead, argue that the writing process begins and ends with the writer, instead of writing solely enacting and creating identities as Concept 3 proposes. Therefore, this essay will explain the importance of intersectionality in explaining how writing is influenced by the identity of the writer to then be able to better develop inclusive writing in all areas.
Writing is Shaped by the Intersectionality of the Writer:
Intersectionality, n.
The interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage; a theoretical approach based on such a premise. (Oxford Dictionary)
Intersectionality is, thus, utilized as a framework for conceptualizing a person, group of people, or social problem as affected or influenced by people’s overlapping identities and experiences in order to understand the complexity of prejudices they face. It recognizes that identity markers (e.g. “female”, “latinx”, “gay”) do not exist independently of each other, and that each informs the others, often creating a complex convergence of cause and effect. Therefore, people experience and influence the world differently based on their overlapping identity markers. This, of course, affects people’s writing. It is important that writing processes, both in academic settings and otherwise, explore intersectional in-between spaces between monolithic identity markers and power differentials such as gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, disability, and nationality.
It is extremely difficult as well discouraging to dissect and employ only one identity or certain identities depending on context, audience, etc. as Naming What We Know’s Concept 3 suggests. It seems counterintuitive and even dated to promote becoming particular “participants in a particular community” to be able to effectively communicate through writing (51). Intersectionality argues that the dominant single-axis framework leads to the tendency to treat identity markers as mutually exclusive categories of experience and analysis which oversimplifies the complexity of identity and leads to conformity. Concept 3.3 understands that writing is informed by prior experience but does not include how the identity of the writer informs this prior experience, and so writing is thus informed as well as affected by the writer’s identity.
We, as complex writers as well as complex human beings, should instead influence and change normative writing instead of conforming to particular parameters. It is important to note that this does not apply to tailoring a writing style to fit a genre, for a specific audience, or anything else of this nature. It means that a writer should not have to exclude or suppress certain identities for particular writing. We are each a multifaceted person with an interconnected set of characteristics that influence how we see and interact with the world.
Once the concept of how the intersectionality of writers influences their writing is understood, we can better address and create inclusive writing. There are a few ways we can do this. The first is recognizing the difference which means understanding that all unique experiences of identity, and particularly ones that involve multiple overlapping oppressions, are valid. In terms of writing, this applies to things like how pedagogy is structured, certain phrases or words writer use, and much more. The second is avoiding oversimplified language. Once the difference is recognized, we can move away from utilizing language that defines people by a singular identity. The use of pronouns, certain themes, and others in writing can often create senses of exclusion for those who exist beyond the simplified language used (e.g. gender-specific words, such as "man", "mankind", and masculine pronouns). Sweden and some other countries have taken this to heart and have established gender neutral pronouns. The Swedish gender neutral pronoun “hen” was actually introduced in 1966 but did not receive widespread recognition until around 2010, when it began to be used in books, magazines and newspapers, and provoked media debates. From the recognition of people’s intersectionality, inclusive writing is able to create a certain awareness that can even enact social change.
Writers’ identity is central in understanding writing. Each characteristic affects one's experience, interpretation, and knowledge in both similar and different ways which thus affects one’s writing. In recognising this, the study of writing through threshold concepts in Naming What We Know can be more full.