Conference on College Composition and Communication, November 2022
This statement is informed by the assumption that language, power, and action are interconnected. As teachers, scholars, and administrators of writing, our goals in composing this statement are to increase understanding about how power operates in, around, and through language; to recognize the power writing instructors have to build on students’ languaging practices; to spark continued conversation about the need for linguistic access and equity in our scholarship and teaching; and to cultivate more conscientious, responsible, and socially just ways to engage with language.
With these goals in mind, we’ve divided this statement into two main sections. The first, Threshold Concepts, explains relevant tenets of language in action. Based on current research in linguistics, writing, and rhetoric, this section sets the foundation for our thinking about the connections among language, power, and action. The second section, Recommendations for Praxis, provides research-based guidelines for instructors, administrators, and researchers. Thus, this statement serves not only as an explanation of principles but also as a heuristic for more justice-centered practices.