A Multimodal Approach
About
Decolonizing the Composition Classroom: A Multimodal Approach
Before embarking on this project, I asked myself what I value most as both an instructor and a student. What I settled on as an answer was the feeling of a genuine connection in the classroom, whether it was with a text, an idea, or other people. I knew that I wanted to maintain connection as the core of my project, keeping in mind ways that instructors can help their students find and forge these connections on their own.
The “decolonial” aspect of the project goes hand-in-hand with the focus of connection. Historically, geopolitical and mental colonization has worked to sever invaluable connections. It has deracinated people from their land, cultural practices, languages, communities, and ways of knowing. But colonization does not exist in the past—it is an ongoing phenomenon that we can find in any “Western” environment which requires people to conform to an imposed way of life, including university composition classes with rigid curriculum. Colonization is the privileging of one way of knowing (or composing) over another. It is the exclusion of dissenting voices. It is prescriptive grammar. It is the enforced disconnection between academic writing and creative personal expression.
So how do we remedy and resist colonization in the composition classroom? Although some instructors may try to walk a thin line between the traditional grammatical and structural standards and the newer pedagogical focus of multimodality and multiple literacies, it is impossible to completely abandon the colonial mentality without decisively moving beyond concerns for standardization. Instead, instructors should seek to maximize difference in their classrooms, providing space for students to learn by doing what they love and at which they excel. Allowing for difference in approaches to composition can encourage students to become aware of these differences, to understand their strengths in relation to others’, and to make a connection between their perspectives and the many perspectives that can and do exist. Beyond composition, this approach should foster deeper critical thinking about the world, a better understanding of the self, and a desire to connect with others. This is the connection—with environment, self, and community—that works to undo colonialism, beginning first with the mind and then naturally evolving to geopolitical action.
Ready to decolonize your classroom?
A decolonial approach to teaching composition consists of four key elements:
Diversifying the syllabus
Centering marginalized experiences through discussion
Validating culturally derived and novel approaches to composition
Using interlanguage pragmatics (ILP) and teaching bilingual critical literacy
Diversifying the Syllabus
Creating a decolonial curriculum begins with a diverse and inclusive syllabus, which requires not only assigning readings from marginalized voices and perspectives in the course texts, but also offering students a diverse set of options for and approaches to their writing assignments. The syllabus should also act as a living document, adjusting to address students’ needs as the semester progresses. Finally, the syllabus should act as a resource beyond the classroom, providing students with information on campus support and further research or experiential learning.
Centering marginalized experiences through discussion
Following Linda Brodkey’s call for the integration of historical and sociopolitical issues into composition courses, decolonial composition instructors should seek to center commonly marginalized experiences, identities, and issues in their lesson plans, including lectures, discussions, and activities. This approach is necessarily reliant on decolonial and diverse syllabus design, as texts written by people of color, women, queer people, and neurodivergent people are entry points into an open discussion of various social and cultural issues. Furthermore, this approach promotes engagement by drawing on students’ personal experiences rather than forcing them to rely on second-hand knowledge.
Validating culturally derived and novel approaches to composition
In addition to creating space for diversity and inclusion in class discussions, instructors should allow for non-traditional approaches to and methods of composing a class assignment. Drawing on discussions of multimodality, cultural forms of expression, and originality and authorship, this approach recommends giving students a variety of options for each assignment prompt, making it clear that they may incorporate multiple modes, media, or outside texts into their writing. When assessing student writing, instructors should consider students’ rationale for composing their assignment the way they do—is the student a visual learner and thinker, are they drawing on culturally traditional practices, and/or are they attempting to engage in a broader conversation by “riffing” off another text?
Flexible assessment and feedback based on interlanguage pragmatics (ILP) and Developing Bilingual Critical Literacy
Finally, a decolonial approach to composition is not complete without addressing the issue of language and linguistic ability. This approach focuses specifically on second language (L2) and third language (L3) writers. Composition instructors should familiarize themselves with ILP and its application to the composition classroom in order to better understand the linguistic errors students make when writing in their second or third language. This understanding should allow for flexible grading and feedback tailored to the L2 and L3 student.
Furthermore, instructors should move away from focusing on fluency in English and refocus their instruction on helping bilingual student develop bilingual critical literacy.
About the Creator
Abby Bayani-Heitzman is a Filipina American from northeast Kansas. She is currently an MA candidate in English at Wichita State University, where she also teaches English composition classes. Her work and research is focused primarily on Asian American literature and linguistics.
