The Ethics of Giving: Teaching Rhetoric in One Community Literacy Program Item Type text; Electronic Dissertation Authors Johnson Gindlesparger, Kathryn Julia Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 25/09/2021 01:12:52 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/193570 ETHICS OF GIVING: TEACHING RHETORIC IN ONE COMMUNITY LITERACY PROGRAM By Kathryn Julia Johnson Gindlesparger _____________________ Copyright © Kathryn Julia Johnson Gindlesparger 2009 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY WITH A MAJOR IN RHETORIC, COMPOSITION AND THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2009 2009 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Dissertation Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by Kathryn Johnson Gindlesparger entitled “The Ethics of Giving: Teaching Rhetoric in One Community Literacy Program” and recommended that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Rhetoric, Composition, and the Teaching of English. __________________________________________________ Date: 12 May 2009 Roxanne Mountford __________________________________________________ Date: 12 May 2009 Anne-Marie Hall __________________________________________________ Date: 12 May 2009 Tom Miller __________________________________________________ Date: 12 May 2009 Adela Licona Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate’s submission of the final copies of the dissertation to the Graduate College. I hereby certify that I have read this dissertation prepared under my direction and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement. __________________________________________________ Date: 12 May 2009 Dissertation Director: Roxanne Mountford 3 STATEMENT BY THE AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at the University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgement of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in his or her judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder. SIGNED: Kathryn Julia Johnson Gindlesparger 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank, first and foremost, my advisor Dr. Roxanne Mountford for her tireless support of this project, VOICES, and my academic interests, in general. I would also like to recognize the rest of my committee, Dr. Tom Miller, Dr. Adela Licona, and Dr. Anne-Marie Hall, for their thoughtful comments and care in reading my drafts. Many thanks to my dissertation writing group: Dr. Holly Ryan, Dr. Leta Sharp, Dr. Tammie Kennedy, and Dr. Stacy Day. Please do not be hurt that I also count my two auxiliary writing buddies, Jeb and Cielo, in your graces (they are very interested in my research). I am grateful to my friends and co-workers at VOICES for providing me with the time and encouragement to finish this project, and for sitting through all those interviews. Special thanks to Dr. Rachel Villarreal for being the first PhD on staff and for always listening and being positive. And special recognition goes to the VOICES founders, especially Regina, who have made tremendous sacrifices in order for the organization to thrive. Finally, thank you to my family: my parents, for indulging me with as many books as I wanted and for genuinely believing I could accomplish anything I wanted to. Special thank you to my mom, Dr. Peggy Johnson, for setting a good example and for teaching me to just get it done, no whining. I am grateful to my in-laws, Mark and Sue Gindlesparger, for believing that writing a dissertation is a real job. And to Matt, for continuing to believe that my work is important, for making sure that I get plenty of sunshine and eat real meals, and for making me laugh. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT....................................................................................................8 PREFACE .....................................................................................................10 CHAPTER 1: THE DIVIDE BETWEEN DIFFERENCE AND INEQUALITY: THEORY (LOGIC) VS. PRACTICE (BELIEF) ...............15 THE PROBLEM: BRIDGING GAPS IN UNDERSTANDING ................................. 18 METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................................... 24 OTHER VOICES.......................................................................................................... 29 Exploring Difference in Rhetoric and Composition ................................................. 29 VOICES HISTORY...................................................................................................... 38 Getting Started .......................................................................................................... 38 Race and Class Collide ............................................................................................. 40 VOICES Markets Itself as Job Skills Training......................................................... 47 Space and Collegiality .............................................................................................. 49 CHAPTER DIVISIONS ............................................................................................... 51 CHAPTER 2: BUILDING RECIPROCITY INTO PROGRAM STRUCTURE ...............................................................................................54 RECIPROCITY IN YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNITY LITERACY. 56 RECIPROCITY AS A WORKING PHILOSOPHY .................................................... 63 FOUNDATIONAL ELEMENTS OF RECIPROCITY: TRUST AND RESPECT ..... 67 6 Reciprocity Guideline #1: Initiate Conversations..................................................... 73 Reciprocity Guideline #2: Share Individual Experience .......................................... 77 Reciprocity Guideline #3: Model Behavior.............................................................. 84 GROWING RECIPROCITY: A PARADOX............................................................... 89 CHAPTER 3: RECIPROCITY AS A RHETORICAL PERFORMANCE ..92 RECIPROCITY AS A RHETORICAL PERFORMANCE ......................................... 96 Storytelling as Reporting: The Systems of Journalism……………………………..98 Following the Homeless Home: Directing a Performance ..................................... 102 Burke and Anzaldúa’s Myths as Pathways to Reciprocal Dialogue....................... 111 Fenced In/ Conversations with a Minuteman: Jennifer’s Performance of Professionalism....................................................................................................... 118 CONCLUSION........................................................................................................... 127 CHAPTER 4: ADDRESSED AUDIENCE AT VOICES...........................131 EVEN “ADDRESSED” AUDIENCES ARE IMAGINED: SEARCHING FOR DIVERSITY ............................................................................................................... 134 A PRACTICAL NOTE ON AUDIENCE: WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?............... 141 Audience as a Conduit to Transformative Rhetorics .............................................. 145 TRANSFORMATION ON A LARGE SCALE......................................................... 147 SUCCESS OR FAILURE?: EDITING YOUTH WRITING TO MEET COMMUNITY EXPECTATIONS....................................................................................................... 151 CONCLUSION........................................................................................................... 166 7 CHAPTER 5: CREATING SUSTAINABLE LITERACY PROGRAMS.168 ROOTS OF SUSTAINABILITY AND ECO-COMPOSITION ................................ 171 ECO-COMPOSITION IN VOICES PEDAGOGY………………………………….175 ENACTING A MISSION SUSTAINABLY.............................................................. 178 MARKING BOUNDARIES....................................................................................... 180 CONCLUSION........................................................................................................... 184 APPENDIX A: INTERVIEW PROTOCOLS ............................................190 APPENDIX B: VOICES YOUTH STAFF APPLICATION .....................199 APPENDIX C: YOUTH HIRING LETTER ..............................................203 APPENDIX D: VOICES IDENTITY WORKSHOP .................................204 APPENDIX E: "WORKING WITH WELFARE," BY STEPHANIE MEZA……………………………………………………………………..208 APPENDIX F: "FENCED IN," BY JENNIFER THALL………………...211 APPENDIX G: "FOLLOWING THE HOMELESS HOME," BY JOHN GARCIA AND ZOE BURT…………………………………………...…215 APPENDIX H: "ACCEPTING FATE," BY JONATHAN SCHOFFEL...223 APPENDIX