Outbursts in Academe: Multiculturalism and Other Sources of Conflict

Outbursts in Academe advances a new theoretical notion in the composition classroom: the concept of outburst as a single, researchable moment in the lives of teachers and students. Outbursts are not reducible to ‘resistance’ to ‘oppression’, Kathleen Dixon reminds us in the introduction. An emotional display made in a classroom or at a conference might feel good at the moment, feel bad later, advance one’s cause, and set it back simultaneously. Further, one person’s outburst may create the conditions for another person’s silence.

This thought-provoking collection is comprised of an introduction that establishes a definition for outbursts, seven original essays, and seven responses to the essays. Contributors include young scholars from a range of disciplines and interdisciplines such as composition studies, English education, Chicano/a literature and language, socio-linguistics, and Native American studies. In general, more established scholars in composition and English education occupy the role of respondent.