Reflections: A Journal of Community-Engaged Writing and Rhetoric Sep 2008 Open Access

Absent Voices: Rethinking Writing Women Safe

Jessica Restaino

Abstract

My experiences teaching a service-learning composition class entitled Writing Women Safe that dealt with sexual violence against women point to a missing link between course content and community-based activism. Students in my all-female class wrote about and discussed the reality of rape, sometimes in the context of their own lives. However, for all the real talk about a real crime, our well-intentioned service component, the design of informational pamphlets for a rape crisis center, did not draw on students' personal resources, nor evoke a believable sense of "change agency." Greater engagement with avenues for action through writing, perhaps via the community partner's work in the local justice system, as well as deeper reflection on students' strengths and positioning, are central concerns as I revise my approach to the course. Faced with the prospect of one day implementing Writing Women Safe at my new institution, I argue that, as educators and scholars committed to community-based learning, we must develop partnerships that push all involved more deeply into honest assessment of needs, resources, and perspective.

Journal
Reflections: A Journal of Community-Engaged Writing and Rhetoric
Published
2008-09-01
DOI
10.59236/rjv8i1pp3-21
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
OA PDF Gold
Topics
writing pedagogy service learning teacher development assessment
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

References (10)

  1. In his book, Collision Course: Conflict, Negotiation, and Learning in College Composition (1999), Russell Dur…
  2. Additionally, his composition course reader, You Are Here: Readings on Higher Education for College Writers (…
  3. Deans (2005)
    Genre Analysis and the Community Writing Course
    Reflections: A Journal of Writing, Service-Learning, and Community Literacy
  4. Durst (1999)
    Collision Course: Conflict, Negotiation, and Learning in College Composition
  5. Durst (2002)
    You Are Here: Readings on Higher Education for College Writers Upper Saddle River
Show all 10 →
  1. Harding (1993)
    Rethinking Standpoint Theory: What Is 'Strong Objectivity'?
  2. Lyon (1995)
    Who's Sandra Harding? Where's She Standing?
    Journal of Advanced Composition
  3. Rhoads (1997)
    Community Service and Higher Learning Explorations of the Caring Self
  4. Stanton (1999)
    Service Learning: A Movements Pioneers Reflect on Its Origins, Practice, and Future
  5. Walker (2000)
    The Service/Politics Split: Rethinking Service to Teach Political Engagement
    PS, Political Science and Politics  ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 0 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Computers and Composition Sep 2025
    Academic research AND (Google OR Reddit): A librarian-faculty collaboration to improve student source engagement ↗
    Stephanie Redekop; Olivia Hobbs
    first-year composition writing pedagogy service learning teacher development collaborative writing assessment social media
  2. Pedagogy Oct 2024
    Contributors ↗
    rhetorical criticism first-year composition writing pedagogy basic writing writing across the curriculum graduate education two-year college service learning teacher development revision argument collaborative writing assessment writing program administration multimodality multilingual writers literacy studies race and writing disability studies community literacy editorial matter
  3. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Dec 2023
    Fostering Advocacy, Developing Empathetic UX Bricoleurs: Ongoing Programmatic Assessment and Responsive Curriculum Design ↗
    Scott J. Kowalewski; Bill Williamson
    writing pedagogy curriculum design service learning teacher development assessment technical communication professional writing empirical research qualitative research
  4. Writing and Pedagogy Nov 2019
    Engaging in a University Curriculum Involving Sustainability Themes ↗
    Tara Hembrough
    first-year composition writing pedagogy service learning teacher development assessment writing program administration qualitative research affect and writing
  5. Reflections: A Journal of Community-Engaged Writing and Rhetoric Apr 2015
    Designing the Future: Assessing Long-Term Impact of Service-Learning on Graduate Instructors ↗
    Caroline Gottschalk Druschke; Megan Marie Bolinder; Nadya Pittendrigh; Candice Rai
    writing pedagogy graduate education service learning teacher development assessment