Demson: Our Common World: A Radical and Ecological Composition Textbook for the Twenty--‐First Century

Principal investigators:

Dr. Michael Demson (Department of English), demson@shsu.edu
Amanda Henehan (Senior English Major)
Kindall Jackson (Senior English Major)

Process   Our summer research project progressed methodically in stages. In the initial stage, I directed Ms. Henehan and Ms. Jackson in an intensive study of pedagogy theory. We read texts by major theorists, including Paulo Freire, bell hooks, and James Spradley, as well as very recent texts on the emergent fields of eco-­‐criticism/eco-­‐pedagogy and sustainability studies. These two students conducted library research, annotated and summarized essential articles, discussed and evaluated contending theories, compiled bibliographies, and developed a research schedule for the rest of the summer. In the second stage, Ms. Henehan and Ms. Jackson drafted the first of three units of the textbook as they themselves undertook the assignment they designed: an ethnographic interview. Both conducted sustained ethnographic interviews. Then, integrating their library research with their own fieldwork, they produced both instructional materials and exemplary papers that will be reworked into the textbook as models of student work. In the third segment, they continued to conduct library research, to annotate and summarize relevant source materials, to organize and compose instructional components of the textbook, and to reflect on their own processes. They outlined the second and third section of the textbook, again developing the assignments as they themselves developed models. In the days of the grant period, they began working with Dr. Diane Dowdy of the Department of English on a plan to trial run the textbook in a composition course in the spring of 2016. As the fall began, they continued to work on the later parts of the textbook.

As a team, we wish to thank the EURECA Center for the Fast Award that made this summer project possible and the Department of English, which provided us with office space, a computer and printer, and other material resources to facilitate our collaboration.

Results Ms. Henehan and Ms. Jackson completed a draft outline of the textbook during the grant period. They composed all of the instructional material and supporting models for the first part of the book, and outlined everything that remained to be done. They developed a plan for the books completion during the fall of 2015 and spring of 2016, including a plan for its trial in the spring of 2016. They mastered the theoretical work underpinning the project, they completed all fieldwork, and they advanced on to preparation of a publishable manuscript. In addition, they began their plans to present the book at the Undergraduate Research Symposium in the spring of 2016.