A Socially Just Classroom: Transdisciplinary Approaches to Teaching Writing Across the Humanities

This is a timely and engaging collection of articles by educators for educators. Recent ideological and cultural skirmishes—including attacks on critical race theory and threats to "not say 'gay'" in the classroom—have further intensified the nation's already fierce social justice battlefield. This new text features contributions by scholars from a wide range of disciplines who, through the theory and practice of transdisciplinarity, take intellectual risks and tread new pedagogical terrain, both necessary actions for articulating and addressing the challenges that continue to confront our society. Teachers and students alike will appreciate the vitality and freshness of this book's approach and topics, including those that reaffirm the sophisticated use of popular culture in the classroom. The connective tissue in this body of work, as its title indicates, is writing: its purpose and practice in the classroom, how it meets a fundamental human need to tell and listen to stories, and the multiple ways in which writing can change student lives and the communities to which they belong. Especially useful for many educators will be the chapters that comprise Part III, "Power in Presence: From Chalkboard to Pavement." As was the case during another time of national strife over a half century ago, it is once again critical that we attempt to "bring the campus to the community and the community to campus." If, indeed, any measure of social justice is to be achieved, theory must translate to practice, and this collection will provide creative and innovative road maps for that journey.

C. C. Herbison, Ph.D.

Professor Emeritus (American Studies)

The Evergreen State College

[This book] is a powerful contribution to writing studies and higher education/humanities overall. It is transformative in many ways.

[…] [A] careful balance between the topic being addressed and the directness in which the response is presented in each essay. There’s a story/scenario indicating a problem and then the effort to address it without using overtly political language.

[…] each essay does not get bogged down but invites the reader into a meaningful dialogue on an important subject.

Other strengths include the wide diversity of essays and topics from pedagogy to popular culture, and the focus on different types of communities, in and beyond the classroom, as well as different levels of education from pre-college to graduate students. Crossing boundaries and borders make the book especially appealing.

I’m glad this book has come into being. The collaboration tells us a lot and is the model we need more of. I think the authors have set a new trend that I hope to see continue.

Dr. Maryemma Graham

Distinguished Professor, Department of English

University of Kansas