Figured Worlds and Discourses of Masculinity: Being a Boy in a Literacy

Classroom

A Companion to Chapter 5 by Josephine Marsh and Jayne C. Lammers

From the companion website for Rogers, R. (2011). An Introduction to Critical Discourse Analysis in Education, 2nd edition. New York: Taylor and Francis at www.routledge.com/textbooks/9780415874298

Aim of Presentation

We aim to focus attention on seeing how one aspect of critical discourse analysis, building tasks, are visible in the data.

In doing so, we take you through questions (see Gee, 2005) asked of data that make these building tasks more visible.

Our intention is to highlight different aspects of the interviews, rather than repeat what is available in the chapter.

Seven Building Tasks

Language-in-use is a tool not only for saying and doing things, but also (with other non-verbal things) for building the following:

1. Significance

2. Activities (Practices)

3. Identities

4. Relationships

5. Politics (the distribution of social goods)

6. Connections

7. Sign Systems and Knowledge

(Gee, 2005; this volume)

Significance

How are Theresa’s responses being used to make certain things significant, and in what ways?

Theresa’s repeated reference to rules makes them significant:

“He always did like rules and he always followed them.

It was important for him, too, for other kids to follow the rules…

Followed all the rules, did all the things he was supposed to”

Connecting Back to the Chapter

Theresa holds the figured world that teachers are responsible for making school challenging and motivating for all students.

Her words emphasize that Chavo follows rules, relating his self-positioning to this figured world.

She suggests that if teachers had higher expectations of Chavo, then he would perform to that level in order to adhere to the rules.

Activities (Practices) What activity or activities is this language being used to enact (i.e., get

others to recognize as going on)?

Language is used to build the activity as a research interview. See this example:

Researcher: Okay. What’s your least favorite part? [long pause]

Now remember these are confidential. Chavo: AlrightResearcher: I don’t go inside the school, here you go Ms. Brown.

Here’s what Chavo said or here’s what he thinks about the class.

Chavo: I don’t know I um find a lot of the stuff that we’re doing in there not interesting…

Connecting Back to the Chapter

The chapter discusses the interview activity in terms of how it affects the social language Chavo uses to describe his humanities class. He says “it sucks” when with his teammates, but says the class “isn’t motivational” when asked about it in the interview.

The transcript excerpt makes visible how language is building this activity as an interview.

Identities

What identity or identities is this piece of language being used to enact (i.e., get others to recognize as operative)?

Consider this excerpt from Theresa’s story:

So, I basically got the group of teachers together and I said, “You know, you’re losing him because he’s

not being challenged.”

Connecting Back to the Chapter

In addition to revealing Theresa’s figured world about teachers, her language also makes visible how Theresa constructs her identity as a certain kind of Mom—one who stays involved in her child’s education.

Relationships

What sort of relationship is Chavo’s language seeking to enact with others?

At times, Chavo’s language makes visible his desire to enact a relationship of solidarity with others in his humanities class.

Some of us [boys] speak out against that.

A lot of guys don’t like to do the work, especially their senior year.

Now I’m sitting with Dave and Peter and Johnny.

And I think we all basically feel the same about that class.

Connecting Back to the Chapter

Note that Chavo is enacting this relationship of solidarity with other boys in his humanities class. This represents how he believes boys act in a literacy

class.

Politics

What perspective on social goods is this interview response communicating?

Ms. Brown communicates her perspective on which activities are low status, not those of a “literature/humanities kid.”

I don’t know if Chavo reads on his own, but I would venture to guess if it’s not a sports magazine or a

soccer journal, he doesn’t.

Chavo has never voluntarily participated in the discussions all year.

Connecting Back to the Chapter

Ms. Brown positions Chavo’s reading as lower status and she privileges reading books/literature over reading sports magazines.

Her language makes visible that higher value is placed on class participation in order to be recognized as a “humanities kid” by Ms. Brown.

Connections

How does this language connect things; how does it make one thing relevant to another?

In comparing Chavo to her daughter, Ms. Brown’s language not only connects the two young people, but also makes sports relevant to not enjoying her humanities class.

I said “Chavo, I know you don’t like this class.”

I said, “You remind me so much of my daughter, she didn’t like it either…”

I’d say with my daughter, (laughingly) she had too many headers [soccer term for passing the ball with one’s head] and maybe that’s Chavo’s problem.

Connecting Back to the Chapter

Ms. Brown makes the connection to her daughter when asked whether she thought gender played a role in Chavo’s way of being in her classroom.

The connection she makes between the two makes the relationship real to her. Thus, Chavo’s non-participation becomes about his being an athlete, not a boy.

Sign Systems and Knowledge

How does this piece of language privilege or disprivilege specific sign systems or different ways of knowing?

The Grapes of Wrath quiz that Chavo was given in the 11th grade privileged a certain way of knowing literature.

I got like a D on it and I had read the whole book.

It was picky questions, really picky and that’s a thick book

I decided, I could just skip reading and get the same grade.

And that’s when I totally stopped [reading].

Connecting Back to the Chapter

Chavo went from avidly reading from the summer reading list to avoiding school reading altogether when he realized that the knowledge privileged by schools did not match his interests.

Only when his humanities teacher crafts a final project that allows him to incorporate his way of knowing sports with the content does Chavo become engaged with the class.

Suggested Reading

Lazar, M.M. (2007). Feminist critical discourse analysis: Articulating a feminist discourse praxis. Critical Discourse Studies, 4(2), 141–164.

Martinez-Roldan, C.M. (2005). Examining bilingual children's gender ideologies through critical discourse analysis. Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, 2(3), 157–178.

Remlinger, K.A. (2005). Negotiating the classroom floor: Negotiating ideologies of gender and sexuality. In M.M. Lazar (Ed.), Feminist critical discourse analysis (pp. 114–138). New York: Palgrave.

Richardson, E. (2007). “She was workin like foreal”: Critical literacy and discourse practices of African American females in the age of hip hop. Discourse & Society, 18(6), 789–809.