IES 2022: Interior Importance: Personalizing the College Composition Classroom
A couple of years ago, I asked my composition students a simple question as they prepared drafts for their final papers, arguments dealing with a contemporary pop culture issue: why does this topic matter to you? While the inquiry might sound simple enough, the response was troubling: I was met with blank stares and eyes-to-the-floor. I halted my lesson for the day–likely a refresher on MLA expectations or argument structure–and initiated an impulsive exercise of much more importance. I asked them to take ten minutes to conduct a free-write exploring their personal investment in their topics. A handful got to work quite quickly, typing out their impassioned manifestos on personal-injustice-turned MeToo celebration and influencer-fame-turned celebrity idol shunning. Others silently begged the empty white walls of the room for insight. One brave soul raised her hand to ask exactly what I was looking for. Why does your topic matter to you? A blank stare. Like matter how, like what am I researching? What followed was a conversation on the value of choosing topics of personal investment and a pedagogical repurposing to both exemplify and instruct such practice. I am Professor Julie T. Quarles, and this is my love letter to personal context in all composition writing, even the most objective of analyses.
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