Repurposing Composition: Feminist Interventions for a Neoliberal Age

by Shari J. Stenberg

In Repurposing Composition , Shari J. Stenberg responds to the increasing neoliberal discourse of academe through the feminist practice of repurposing. In doing so, she demonstrates how tactics informed by feminist praxis can repurpose current writing pedagogy, assessment, public engagement, and other dimensions of writing education. Stenberg disrupts entrenched neoliberalism by looking to feminism’s long history of repurposing “neutral” practices and approaches to the rhetorical tradition, the composing process, and pedagogy. She illuminates practices of repurposing in classroom moments, student writing, and assessment work, and she offers examples of institutions, programs, and individuals that demonstrate a responsibility approach to teaching and learning as an alternative to top-down accountability logic. Repurposing Composition is a call for purposes of work in composition and rhetoric that challenge neoliberal aims to emphasize instead a public-good model that values difference, inclusion, and collaboration.

176 pages, Paperback

First published June 12, 2015

Reviews

[Olivia R · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciated the specific references to examples and classroom suggestions, especially the chapter on listening. Overall though I’m concerned by how this author was able to write an entire book on neoliberalism without seriously considering material concerns (exploitation, precarity, etc.) once. This has the effect of reducing neoliberalism to an ideology rather than an economic system. And then it seems that we are supposed to do more work to resist this system, without advocating for higher pay, benefits, less contingent labor, and so on.

[Peaches · Rating 4 out of 5]

I took a Feminist Rhetoric class for my Master's and the general takeaway was that feminist teaching created inclusive spaces for students, but I don't remember it getting much deeper. This book refreshingly goes deep with concepts, explaining that a feminist view of a composition classroom may create inclusive spaces, but attention needs to be on how instructors attempt to do so. I appreciated the ideas of how emotion can be a powerful tool rather than something that should be excluded from writing, something many students cannot fathom because of their k-12 experiences.
My only qualm was that it's mostly theory with no examples. I get annoyed with research texts that urge practitioners to change something, but provide no examples. "Here are some thoughts. You go figure them out!"
As a side note: I also really liked this cover!