Reflections: A Journal of Community-Engaged Writing and Rhetoric Apr 2007 Open Access

The GED as Transgender Literacy: Performing in the Learning/Acquisition Borderland

Paul Bulter

Abstract

This article uses James Paul Gee's distinction between acquisition and learning to consider the context of GED tutoring in a correctional facility. It draws on the notion of performance, as defined in Judith Butler's work and in queer theory, to consider the ways that literacy and Identity are performed in the space of the prison. Arguing that Butler's broader definition of performance, while helpful, reads identity out of literacy, the article proposes a notion of transgender literacy that shows how the confluence of "distance and "similarity" can offer a useful way of rereading literacy in institutional spaces.

Journal
Reflections: A Journal of Community-Engaged Writing and Rhetoric
Published
2007-04-01
DOI
10.59236/rjv6i1pp27-40
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
OA PDF Gold
Topics
literacy studies gender and writing
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

References (12)

  1. Bocllstodf (1999)
    Tue Perfect Path: Gay Men, Marriage, Indonesia
    GLQ
  2. Brandt (2001)
    Utmuy in Amm,an LillD
  3. Butler, Judith. Gender Trouble. New York: Rourledgc, 1999.
  4. Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punish: 1he Birth of the Prison. Trans. Alan Sheridan. New York: Vintage, 1977.
  5. Gauntlett (2006)
    Judith Bueler
Show all 12 →
  1. Gee (1991)
    What Is Literacy?" Rewriting LitertlCJ: Culture and the Discourse of the Other
  2. Giroux (1991)
    Series Introduction: Literacy, Difference, and the Politics of Border Crossing
  3. Pompa (2005)
    Service-Learning as Crucible: Reflections on Immersion, Context, Power, and Transformation
  4. Powell (2003)
    Accepting Roles Created for Us: The Ethics of Reciprocity
    Co~ Compolition and Communiauion
  5. Halberstam (2005)
    11 a Qu«r Time & P'4«: Transgendn Bodies, Subcultural Lives
  6. Vaughn (1997)
    GED Skill Book: The Essay
  7. Stuckey (1991)
    Theories of Literacy and Society.~ The Violena of Litertlcy
CrossRef global citation count: 0 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Reflections: A Journal of Community-Engaged Writing and Rhetoric Feb 2026
    Voices from Rock Bottom: Queering Addiction Recovery Rhetoric & Community Literacy ↗
    Danielle Bacibianco
    rhetorical criticism archival research multimodality literacy studies gender and writing public rhetoric community literacy
  2. Written Communication Feb 2026
    A Content Analysis of Five NCTE Journals ↗
    Jonathan Marine; Jason Grant; Paul Rogers
    teacher development writing program administration multilingual writers literacy studies race and writing gender and writing
  3. College Composition and Communication Feb 2026
    Crying Censorship Wolf: Prefiguring Contemporary Realities through Disciplinary History ↗
    Holly Hassel; Kate L. Pantelides
    rhetorical criticism literacy studies gender and writing
  4. Written Communication Jan 2026
    The Contributions of Student-Level and Classroom-Level Factors for Australian Grade 2 Students’ Writing Performance ↗
    Anabela Malpique; Mustafa Asil; Deborah Pino-Pasternak; Debora Valcan
    writing pedagogy teacher development revision grammar and mechanics literacy studies gender and writing
  5. College Composition and Communication Dec 2025
    Black Women in the Control Room: Exploring the Sonic Literacies Development of a Hip Hop Audio Engineer ↗
    Christopher E. Castillo
    literacy studies gender and writing