ENGL3338 · English

Americanization and the Rhetorics of Citizenship

Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences

In this course, we will explore how race, ethnicity and social class influence thinking about normative ideals of citizenship. We will turn our attention toward underrepresented communitiesincluding migrants, racialized and gendered individuals and others labeled unfitthat have navigated the needs of citizenship, while balancing heritage languages and identities as a foundation of community knowledge and values. Throughout the semester, we will work collaboratively, reading, researching and writing about evolving questions and concerns.At the start of the semester, we will engage shared readings, largely non-fiction, from across disciplines, including American Studies, Disability Studies, and Cultural Rhetorics. These readings will explore the ways in which the individual and national bodies are described rhetorically, with an emphasis on citizenship as a nativist cure for unfit individuals. Next, we will turn to the archives where we will engage a number of primary materials that explore the contribution of marginalized communities to conversations on citizenship with an emphasis on heritage language, as well as community knowledge and values. For a culminating research project, students may seek to intervene in ongoing conversations on citizenship, advocating for the ways in which citizenship may be enacted and embodied within a community of their choice. Potential topics, for example, may include representations of citizenship during BLM protests at public monuments, or voting rights, race and citizenship schools. This course satisfies the Literature Across Worlds requirement for English majors.