Summer reading, writing, thinking, noticing
Dear friends,
Warm thanks to everyone who joined us at our recent discussion. Despite my nerves about sharing a rough-stage project, it felt incredibly generative to talk about it in the context of this group; I came away with fresh ideas and energy, and the process of actively thinking together felt powerful and interesting. Our notes, as always, are here.
I'm happy to say we'll do it again at our next session (Tuesday, August 2 at 2pm; register here), when we'll talk about Danica Savonick's work-in-progress, Insurgent Knowledge. Danica will put materials here when they're ready, so check back next week or so. In the mean time, here's what Danica has to say about her work:
The reading I'll share is an excerpt of my book manuscript, Insurgent Knowledge: The Poetics and Pedagogy of Toni Cade Bambara, June Jordan, Audre Lorde, and Adrienne Rich in the Era of Open Admissions (under contract with Duke University Press).
While these authors are best known for their literature, Insurgent Knowledge explores their overlapping experiences teaching at the City College of New York during one of the most controversial moments in U.S. educational history. I look at their archival teaching materials to explore stories from their classrooms, revealing how these renowned writers were also transformative teachers who developed creative methods of teaching their students to advocate for social change. Insurgent Knowledge also considers how their experiences teaching in open admissions fundamentally altered their writing, and with it, the course of American literature, learning, and feminist criticism.
This manuscript is still very much a work in progress. I’m hoping that our session can be a continuation of “In Our Own Words” (in the sense that feedback and suggestions are very welcome!) as well as a discussion of how it relates to the broader themes and questions we’ve been addressing. Thank you, in advance, for reading!
Speaking personally, I think this will be a great discussion to ground our conversations about rethinking the university in historical efforts to do the same—through classrooms, writing, organizing, and more.
Looking ahead, if you'd like to share a work-in-progress for an upcoming Inkcap discussion, please let me know! And, more broadly, I'd love to think together about what shapes Inkcap might take in the year ahead. Perhaps a shift from reflection to something more concrete; perhaps something I haven't imagined yet. I welcome ideas.
Hope you can join us in August, and in the mean time, wishing everyone a restorative summer.
—Katina
