Integrating critical and trans-affirming pedagogies in argumentation and debate: A heuristic narrative

Courses: Storytelling, persuasion, gender and communication, argumentation and debate.

Objectives: In this essay, I map a unit-specific activity for an undergraduate class in argumentation and debate. I argue for the integration of a trans-affirming pedagogy as a key rhetorical frame in communication studies courses. Such pedagogical commitments push instructors to integrate a critical communication methodology while challenging structures that continue mitigating trans experiences, embedding critical interrogation of systemic injustice. Borrowing from LeMaster (Discontents of being and becoming fabulous on: Queer criticism in neoliberal times. Women’s Studies in Communication 2015;32:167–186. DOI: 10.1080/07491409.2014.988776), I use trans heuristically, whereby “trans and transgender are not necessarily intended exclusively as identities?… In this way, trans and transgender have two functions: as heuristics and as identities” (p. 169). Thus, as a pedagogical approach, a trans sensibility extends instruction methods to consider, criticize, and analyze binaries of thought, mundane performances of identity, and unlikely communicative phenomena that “get at gender in unsuspecting ways” (LeMaster, B., & Mapes, M. Transing priestly performances: Re-reading gender potentiality in Erdrich’s the last report on the miracles at little no horse. In S. Howard (Ed.), Critical articulations of race, gender, and sexual orientation. Lanham, MD: Lexington, 2014, pp. 161–177). Using an activity from the unit “Argumentation with and as Narrative,” I draw on Enke (Enke responds to Nakamura. In V. Muñoz & E. K. Garrison (Eds), Transpedagogies: A roundtable discussion. Women’s Studies Quarterly 2008;36:288–308. DOI: 10.1353/wsq.0.0093) to ask, “How do we engage with the privileged spaces we occupy as trans and nontrans educators as a way to build alliances that are liberatory rather than oppressive to one another?” (p. 303).     

General Foreign/International Communication

A Free and Balanced Flow: Report of the Twentieth Century Fund Task Force on the International Flow of News (Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books, 1979—$12.50 with a paperback also available)

Alex S. Edelstein, John E. Bowes, and Sheldon M. Harsel's Information Societies: Comparing the Japanese and American Experiences (International Communication Center, School of Communications, University of Washington, Seattle, Wa 98195—$10.95, paper)

Fred L. Casmir, ed. Intercultural and International Communication (Washington: University Press of America, 1978—$21.50, paper)

Terry D. Peigh, et al. The Use of Radio in Social Development (Chicago: Communication Laboratory, Community and Family Study Center of the University of Chicago, 1979—price not given, paper)

Ernest D. Rose's World Film & Television Study Resources (Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Godesberger Allee 149, D 5300 Bonn 2, Federal Republic of Germany—price not given)

Medios Audiovisuales (Desengano 12, Madrid-13, Spain—650 pesetas per year/11 issues, surface mail)

List of International Instruments Concerning Different Aspects of Communication (Paris: Unesco International Commission for the Study of Communication Problems, not dated—apparently free on request, paper)     

Producing a Mix-Tape: An Activity for Contextualizing Course Content

Courses: Public Speaking, Argumentation & Advocacy, Interpersonal Communication, Communication & Culture

Objectives: Students will (1) connect a variety of communication concepts taught into a clear contextualized argument, and (2) become “critical producers” of a mix-tape, by recognizing course materials in a popular contexts     

4. ELECTRONIC MEDIA

Dorothy Ganfield Fowler's Unmailable: Congress and the Post Office (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1977- $14.50)

Current Developments in CATV and Pay Television (Practising Law Institute, 810 Seventh Ave., New York, N.Y. 10019—$20.00, paper, with discounts if adopted in quantity for class use).

Broadcasting and the Government: A Status Report prepared by the Relations and Legal Departments of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB, 1771 N St., NW, Washington, D.C. 20036—free on request)

Allen Hyman and M. Bruce Johnson, eds., Advertising and Free Speech (Lexington, Mass: Lexington Books [D.C. Heath] , 1977—$12.50     

Object lessons: Using trans porn in class to explore gender fluidity

Gender categories and gender fluidity can be explicitly performed and demonstrated in sexually explicit media such as pornography. In this class lesson, a rhetoric/performance studies class on pornography focuses on trans* performers in scenes. A critical communication pedagogical approach is used to encourage dialogue and intersectional analyses of trans* identities and erotics in the scenes.

Courses: Media Studies, Porn Studies, Popular Culture, Critical/Cultural Communication, Gender in Communication, LGBTQ Studies in Communication, Sex Communication

Objectives: Students will (1) gain knowledge about gender identity, sexuality, and sex work; (2) increase their skills in critical thinking on the fluidity of gender and sexuality; and (3) demonstrate the capacity to be more attentive to trans issues in conversation.     

Book reviews

Mark Hukill, Ryoto Ono and Chandrasekhar Vallath (Eds.), Electronic Communication Convergence: Policy Challenges in Asia New Delhi: Sage, 2000.

Stuart Cunningham (Ed.), Floating Lives Oxford University Press, 1996

Anura Goonasekera and Duncan Holaday (Eds.), Asian Communication Handbook AMIC, 1998.

Shelton A. Gunaratne (Ed.), Handbook of the Media in Asia Sage, 2000     

Journalism

Leon V. Sigal's Reporters and Officials: The Organization and Politics of Newsmaking (Lexington, Mass: D.C. Heath Lexington Books, 1973—price not known but around 15.00)

Edward Jay Epstein's News from Nowhere: Television and the News (New York: Random House, 1973 —$7.95)

John Hohenberg's The Professional Journalist (New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1973— )     

Clothes Make the Person? Performing Gender Through Fashion

Objectives: Students will: (1) think critically about how they perform gender through clothing choices and (2) recognize how different cultures define masculinity and femininity

Courses: Communication Theory, Gender and Communication, Popular Communication, Rhetorical Theory, Visual Rhetoric     

Common Carrier

Sonny Kleinfield's The Biggest Company on Earth: A Profile of AT&T (New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1981—$14.95)

Roger Sherman, ed. Perspectives on Postal Service Issues (American Enterprise Institute, 1150 Seventeenth St. NW, Washington D.C. 20036—price not given, but available in handback and paperback formats)

Alan L. Sopkin's The Economics of the Postal System: Alternatives and Reform (Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books, 1980—$22.95)

John T. Tierney, Postal Reorganization: Managing the Public's business (Boston: Auburn House, 1981—price not given)     

Media Regulation and Control

James Q. Wilson, ed. The Politics of Regulation (New York: Basic Books, 1980---$18.95)

Robert A. Goldwin, ed. Bureaucrats, Policy Analysts, Statesmen: Who Leads? (Washington: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 1150 17th St. NW, 1980---$5.25, paper with cloth edition also available)

Warren L. Patton's An Author's Guide to the Copyright Law (Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books/D.C. Heath, 1980---$21.95)

Joseph J. Hemmer, Jr.'s Communication Under Law (Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1979 and 1980-- $15.00 and 20.1)0, two vols.)     

Book reviews

Christiane Brosius and Melissa Butcher (Eds.), Image Journeys: Audio‐Visual Media & Cultural Change in India New Delhi: Thousand Oaks; & London: Sage Publications, 1999, 339 pp.

Clement Y. K. So and Joseph M. Chan (Eds.), Press and Politics in Hong Kong: Case Studies from 1967 to 1997. Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1999, 539 pp.     

Regulation

Communications Law 1980 (New York: Practising Law Institute, 810 Seventh Ave., 1980---$40.000 for the set, paper)

John Shelton Lawrence and Bernard Timberg, eds. Fair Use and Free Inquiry: Copyright Law and the New Media (Norwood, N.J.: Ablex, 1980---$32.50)

Michael Botein and David M. Rice, eds. Network Television and the Public Interest: A Preliminary Inquiry (Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books/Health, 1981---$19.95)

Responsibility in Mass Communication by William L. Rivers, Wilbur Scharmm, and Clifford G. Christians (New York: Harper & Row, 1980---$14.95)     

Personal Narrative Performance in the Classroom: A Teaching Tool

Objectives: To have students identify and explain concepts of communication, self-disclosure and empowerment, and promote engagement of self and others through performing narratives of real-life experiences.

Courses: Interpersonal Communication, Advanced Interpersonal Communication, Cross Cultural Communication, Communication and Performance     

“More alike than different”: learning about diversity from people with disabilities

Courses: Interpersonal Communication, Health Communication, Intercultural Communication

Objectives: After completing this semester-long activity students, should be able to (1) apply course concepts (i.e., stereotypes, identity, listening, language, and conflict) to diverse real-world scenarios; (2) explain the utility of intergroup contact theory in relationship to communication and social diversity; (3) critically reflect on social diversity explored through communication behaviors; and (4) develop communication competence toward diverse others, specifically persons with disabilities (PWDs).     

Book reviews

Zillmann, D., Bryant, J., & Huston, A. C. (Eds.). (1994). Media, children, and the family: Social scientific, psychodynamic, and clinical perspectives. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. 351 pages.

Grant, A. E. (Ed.). (1994). Communication technology update (3rd Ed). Boston: Focal Press. 389 pages.

Jankowski, C. F., & Fuchs, D. C. (1995). Television today and tomorrow: It won't be what you think. New York: Oxford University Press. 237 pages.

Braun, M. J. (1994). AM stereo and the FCC: Case study of a marketplace shibboleth. Norwood, NJ: Ablex. 206 pages.     

Illuminating everyday performances of privilege and oppression

ABSTRACT

Courses: Intercultural Communication, Interracial Communication, Gender and Communication, Introduction to Communication Course (within a unit on culture), and any courses encouraging critical analyses of power.

Objectives: This activity will: illuminate the ways in which everyday performances of privilege and resulting oppressions connect with symbolic, individual, and institutional ideologies and actions; identify the ways in which individuals who are marginalized and oppressed may internalize and/or resist dominant ideologies and actions through such performances of privilege; recognize how individual biographies play into our everyday communication and performances with/of power; encourage intersectional analyses of identity, context, and performances of/with power; and develop communication tools for disrupting and speaking back to oppressive performances of privilege.     

Broadcasting

TALK RADIO AND THE AMERICAN DREAM by Murray B, Levin (Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1987—$22.00)

WHO SHOT THE SHERIFF? THE RISE AND FALL OF THE TELEVISION WESTERN by J. Fred MacDonald (New York: Praeger, 1987—$29.95)

LIVE TV: AN INSIDE LOOK AT DIRECTING AND PRODUCING by Tony Verna (Stoneham, MA: Focal Press, 1987—$22.95)

TV CAREERS BEHIND THE SCREEN by Jane Blanksteen and Avi Odeni (New York: John Wiley, 1987—$12.95, paper)

THE BROADCASTER'S DICTIONARY by James R. McDonald (Windriver Books, Box 481, Broomfield, CT 80020—$20.00 incl. postage, paper)

Three recent publications by the National Association of Broadcasters (Publications Dept., 1771 N St. NW. Washington, DC 20036)

TELECOMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT: THE BROADCAST &; CABLE INDUSTRIES by Barry L. Sherman (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1987—$29.95)

CHANNELS OF DISCOURSE: TELEVISION AND CONTEMPORARY CRITICISM edited by Robert C. Allen (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1987—$25.00/7.95)

THE HOUR OF TELEVISION: CRITICAL APPROACHES by N.D. Batra (Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press. 1987—$29.50)     

Building a collaborative communication ethics manifesto

Courses: This activity could be used in courses where persuasion, dialogue, and communication ethics are primary. Thus, a communication ethics course, or course units where students discuss ethics, would be appropriate. For instance, even a human communication course could use this activity to describe ethical treatment of “the other” or a mass communication class can use this activity to discuss ethical power (i.e. the power of technology or news media). This activity could also be modified for use in a public speaking, rhetoric, organizational, or small group communication.

Objective: This activity should be used in tandem with the National Communication Association (NCA) ethical credos on communication. In 2014, to mark the 100th anniversary of the NCA, NCA reaffirmed three ethical credos: The Credo for Free and Responsible Communication in a Democratic Society (National Communication Association, 2013); The Credo for Free and Responsible Use of Electronic Communication Network (National Communication Association, 1963); and the Credo for Ethical Communication (National Communication Association, 1999). When training students to think ethically, it is important to help them develop categories and determine declarative statements. Thus, the NCA documents are effective examples of communication manifestos. Ultimately, through collaboration with partners, small groups of students will develop a communication ethics manifesto in a format similar to the NCA examples. Specifically, they will identify ethical dilemmas, in the activity these are called “Urgent 21st Century Communication Ethics Issues,” and determine declarative statements that provide an ethical framework to address the issue. The “big question”: can student groups create a declarative and collaborative manifesto that addresses urgent 21t century communication ethics issues?     

Calling-in the family: Dialogic performances of family conflict

ABSTRACT

Courses: Introduction to Communication, Introduction to Interpersonal Communication, Family Communication, Small Group Communication, Communication and Listening

Objectives: By this end of this activity, students will be able to identify and practice supportive and defensive communication; understand a dialogic approach to conflict; and reflexively imagine and perform dialogic interpersonal conflict communication as constitutive and transformative.     

PROFESSIONAL READING

Abstract

AFRICANIST LIBRARIANSHIP IN AN ERA OF CHANGE. Evalds, Vicki, and David Henige (Eds.). Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 2005, 242 pp., $35.00, ISBN 0-8108-5201-2. Reviewed by Robin Kear.

BEST TECHNOLOGY PRACTICES IN HIGHER EDUCATION. Lloyd, Les (Ed.). Medford, NJ: Information Today, 2005, xxi+ 242 pp., $39.50, ISBN 1-57387-208-3. Reviewed by Brad Eden

DESIGN AND USABILITY OF DIGITAL LIBRARIES: CASE STUDIES IN THE ASIA PACIFIC. Theng, Yin-Leng, and Schubert Foo (Eds.). Hershey, PA: Idea Group, 2005, xiv+ 395 pp., $69.95, ISBN 1-59140-442-8. Reviewed by Sherri Vokey.

GUIDE TO LICENSING AND ACQUIRING ELECTRONIC INFORMATION. (ALCTS ACQUISITIONS GUIDES; 13). Bosch, Stephen, Patricia A. Promis, and Chris Sugnet, with contributions by Trisha Davis. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 2005, v+112 pp., $40.00, ISBN 0-8108-5259-4. Reviewed by Brad Eden.

LAST ONE OUT TURN OFF THE LIGHTS: IS THIS THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN AND CANADIAN LIBRARIES? Cleyle, Susan E., and Louise M. McGillis (Eds.). Toronto: Scarecrow, 2005, xix+ 227 pp., $54.00, ISBN 081085192X. Reviewed by James Watson.

THE SKEPTICAL BUSINESS SEARCHER: THE INFORMATION ADVISOR'S GUIDE TO EVALUATING WEB DATA, SITES, AND SOURCES. Beckman, Robert. Medford, NJ: Information Today, 2004, 281 pp., $29.95, ISBN 0-9109-6566-8. Reviewed by Laura L. Moody.

TECHNOLOGY PLANNING. Matthews, Joseph R. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2004, xvi+ 139 pp., $45.00, ISBN 1-59158-190-7. Reviewed by Beatrice R. Pulliam.