2. Identity Shapes Language

How Does Identity Shape the Way We Write and Communicate?

In the first module, we explored the concept of identity and how aspects of who we are shape how we think, learn, and engage with the world. Language is deeply connected to identity and serves as an expression of our sense of self and belonging. In this chapter, we will continue to build on this foundation through an exploration of how identity impacts language use as key aspects of the rhetorical situation.

We will introduce the frameworks of linguistic diversity and linguistic justice, which affirm the value of the languages we speak as reflective of who we are and the communities that shape our identities. These frameworks support our claim from the introduction: that you don’t have to leave key parts of your identity at the door as a rhetorical resource when you enter the college classroom. By adopting these frameworks, we’ll explore how our unique forms of expression serve as ways of knowing and powerful tools for critical thinking and writing.

As educators teaching at a Jesuit institution in California, our approach to this topic has been shaped by our own experiences, as well as the cultural and linguistic diversity of our students. It is a crucial aspect of our writing pedagogy to affirm the value of students’ experiences and language practices. This is part of the culture of care that we seek to cultivate in the classroom in order to prepare students to use language for social change outside of the classroom.

What Are We Doing in This Module?

In this module, we will introduce the ideas of rhetoric and linguistic justice, building on what we learned about intersectionality and positionality in Module 1 and applying it to the analysis of sample texts. The resources, readings, and activities below are designed to help you develop the critical tools for this type of analysis.

How Will We Do It?

Building on the close reading and critical thinking skills introduced in the first module, you will explore the relationship between language, identity, and power across several key texts. You’ll examine them individually, but you’ll also explore how they relate and speak to one another.

Why Does It Matter?

The concepts of linguistic diversity, and specifically linguistic justice, are important tools for understanding and appreciating the diverse language practices that make up the world all around us. While we are sometimes taught or led to believe that there is one “correct” way of writing, understanding that language reflects and shapes identity and communities is an important rhetorical skill. It helps us to appreciate language differences and push against the more narrow, limiting forms of academic discourse that have been privileged. It makes our writing—and our world—richer.

Module Goal and Learning Outcomes

Objectives:

• Annotate an assigned text
• Demonstrate an understanding of the connections between language, identity, and the rhetorical situation.
• Inventory the languages and modes we communicate in and with, including dialects as well as different modes of expression, considering how these are shaped by culture, relationships, and institutions.
• Use textual or visual mapping to understand key concepts related to linguistic diversity and linguistic justice, as well as how sources relate to each other.
• Use paraphrasing and quoting to synthesize multiple perspectives or sources (in the form of literature reviews, visual mapping of conversation, dialogue, etc.).
• Respond to the conversation on a topic in your own voice, drawing from your knowledge and experience.

Relevant CTW LOs:

• Read and analyze texts for audience, speaker or writer, purpose, message, and context
• Compose rhetorically effective nonfiction texts for different audiences in different modes of presentation
• Compose texts that resist overly simplistic or binary thinking by engaging various perspectives about topics and/or texts
• Use writing processes as tools for learning and discovery