The Town Hall Meeting: Imagining a Self through Public-Sphere Pedagogy

What lasting impact could a required general education writing course have on students' well-being? The authors examined this question in the context of the California State University- Chico Town Hall Meeting, a campus event sponsored jointly by the Academic Writing Program and the First-Year...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Liberal Education 2011-03, Vol.97 (2), p.40
Main Authors: Swiencicki, Jill, Fosen, Chris, Burton, Sofie, Gonder, Justin, Wolf, Thia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic Discourse
Academic Language
Citizenship
Classroom Research
College Students
Colleges & universities
Community
Community Relations
Conferences, meetings and seminars
Educational Strategies
Elections
Freshman Composition
Meetings
Municipalities
Political Issues
Process Approach (Writing)
Program Descriptions
Program Effectiveness
Student writing
Teachers
Teaching
Teaching Methods
Writing Instruction
Writing Processes
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Summary:What lasting impact could a required general education writing course have on students' well-being? The authors examined this question in the context of the California State University- Chico Town Hall Meeting, a campus event sponsored jointly by the Academic Writing Program and the First-Year Experience Program from 2006 to 2009. In the Town Hall, first-year students in over twenty sections of our required writing course gathered together in small groups with upperclassmen, faculty, staff, and community members to share their research on pressing public issues. They emerged from that required first-year writing course, Academic Writing: Writing in the Public Sphere, having experienced the intertwined processes of inquiry, dialogue, writing, and action that are central to the formation of rich civic, academic, and emerging adult identities. The Town Hall component of this writing course is just one example of an approach to teaching the authors call Public-Sphere Pedagogy (PSP), which focuses on developing student well-being through purpose-driven dialogue and democratic participation. The authors give an overview of the Town Hall format and describe an example of a Town Hall breakout session. They conclude that the Town Hall Meeting and other examples of PSP have had positive effects on the students, community members, faculty, administrators, and staff who have participated in them. (Contains 2 notes.)
ISSN:0024-1822