Oh Well...

“In the eyes of Cornel West, one must take culture seriously in any effort to develop effective praxis” (Gilyard 23). For West, the exemplar of tragicomic hope is “the African American humanist tradition, artistic production that promotes the vitality and vigor of African American life” (Gilyard 23). African American culture is represented in these artistic productions, but did the artists consciously and purposefully represent this culture? Some perhaps did while others perhaps didn’t. Maybe Richard Wright intended his writing to reflect marginalism, but maybe Zora Neale Hurston didn’t intend to reflect humanism in her writing. West doesn’t stipulate, and really, since he is coining the terms he attributes to the four traditions of African Americans and identifying which famous African Americans to categorize accordingly, it doesn’t seem to matter. But this makes me curious about purpose and the rhetorical situation and how dialogue regarding both occurs in the composition classroom.

West says, “…comic release is the black groan made gay. Yet this release is neither escapist nor quietistic. Rather, it is engaged gaiety, subversive joy and revolutionary patience…” (Gilyard 25). This release has the potential to transform, to yield action. It is a rhetorical release in response to a rhetorical situation created by being part of the black culture. But did the artists of these productions set out to create their art in direct response to the rhetorical situation created by being part of the black culture? Or was their purpose to create the art that they wanted to create for themselves whether or not that art consciously reflected their culture or responded to the rhetorical situation created by that culture? If they had been assigned a rhetorical situation, would their productions have been as effective?

These questions have the potential to open up the number of rhetorical situations presented to students in the composition classroom, and frankly, they have to potential to provide students with more freedom. Students could not only choose their topics but their genres as well. This would provide students with the opportunity to create writing that is truly relevant to them and that is still rhetorically effective without being contrived. This would provide students with the opportunity to carve out their own curriculum (within manageable reason of course), a curriculum that they will find more rewarding and hopefully feel more invested. In the classroom, teachers and students of composition would have to engage in more dialogue with one another; this lends itself to critical thinking and creativity. Currently, making writing more relevant to students is an important approach in the composition classroom; Gilyard’s insights into West might just provide a deeper approach to this current approach. Personally, the more engaged students are with the writing process, the more engaged I am with the reading process. This could be a win-win situation for all parties.