Essay #3—Privilege
English 104-007
Draft Due: March 29, 2007
Final Due Date: April 5, 2007
Length: 10-12 pages
Sources: 5-7 (only 2 internet sources)
Follow the criteria in the syllabus for paper formatting (font, margins, name, etc.). Don’t forget a title and your works cited page.
“What men value in this world is not rights but privileges.”
Henry Louis Mencken (1880-1956) American journalist, satirist and social critic.
Over the course of the semester we’ve discussed some basic human rights: the right to work, to safe conditions, to a clean environment, and to equal pay, just to name a few. However, we have not engaged in a conversation that explores the connections between rights and privileges. What are the differences between the two? How do we know? Who defines these differences?
Deborah Tannen’s essay, “The Roots of Debate in Education and the Hope of Dialogue” begins by painting a seemingly triumphant moment in a college classroom. Quickly, however, she illustrates how debate might not be the only or the best means of facilitating education, which brings me to the point of education as privilege. The very opportunity or luxury of space and time to debate a point is a privilege most of us in academia take for granted. Think back to Barbara Ehrenreich’s essay—was there space in her life as a waitress or hotel maid for intellectual sparing? Does the absence of such opportunities contribute to a poor quality of life?
Your job in this next essay will be to unpack your privilege in its various forms. *Please*—This does not mean that I want confessions about all the ways in which you are privileged (or not), rather I’m hoping you will investigate how privilege functions in your world (or environment, if you will).
v How has privilege influenced your view or perceptions of your environs? For example, how do issues such as race, class, gender, age, sexual orientation, religion, language, political affiliation, or citizenship affect your course(s) in life?
v Or, you might consider how the privilege of interpretation, like who gets to write history, determines so many of these issues.
v How are systems of privilege intertwined or separate?
v How can you (the metaphorical you) gain access to privilege? How do you know if you have it?
v Who are historically privileged people? Again, how do you know?
v Which systems of thought are privileged?
v Is the university based on a system of privilege? In what ways are each of us complicit in hierarchies/systems of privilege and does (or should) anyone care?
As with the other essays you’ve written this semester, I’m looking for you to make a personal connection with your writing. All of the questions I pose above provide a pretty wide field in terms of writing projects—my advice, however, is that you choose wisely. Choose a subject or area that you are not already completely familiar with—investigation and research should sustain your curiosity and interest. If you find you are running out of things to say reconsider my questions above. I also suggest that you talk to the people around you about the issue—inspiration often comes when you least suspect it. If you find that you are arriving at answers quickly then you probably haven’t given this prompt much thought. This is a complicated assignment that should result in complicated responses.
Remember that you have access to a ton of technology—feel free to use it. Your Penguin Handbook offers many options for archival research and we have both cameras and voice recorders in the Writing Program Office that I can check out for you. Feel comfortable exploring the boundaries of research opportunities; just remember that to do this well often takes thinking ahead and a game plan.
Feel free to come and see me if you have questions or just need to talk about your ideas.
Good luck.