Extends the borders of essay scholarship by reading Latin American and Latino/a essayists alongside European and American ones.Scholarship on the personal essay has focused on Western European and U. S. varieties of the form. In Traversing the Democratic Borders of the Essay, Cristina Kirklighter extends these boundaries by reading the Latin American and Latino/a essayists Paulo Freire, Victor Villanueva, and Ruth Behar, alongside such canonical figures as Montaigne, Bacon, Emerson, and Thoreau. In this fascinating journey into the commonalities and differences among these essayists, Kirklighter focuses on various elements of the personal essay-self-reflexivity, accessibility, spontaneity, and a rhetoric of sincerity-in order to argue for a more democratic form of writing in academia, one that would democratize the academy and promote nation-building. By using these elements in their teachings and writings, Kirklighter argues, educators can play a significant role in helping others who experience academic alienation achieve a better sense of belonging as they slowly dismantle the walls of the ivory tower.

Extends the borders of essay scholarship by reading Latin American and Latino/a essayists alongside European and American ones.Scholarship on the personal essay has focused on Western European and U. S. varieties of the form. In Traversing the Democratic Borders of the Essay, Cristina Kirklighter extends these boundaries by reading the Latin American and Latino/a essayists Paulo Freire, Victor Villanueva, and Ruth Behar, alongside such canonical figures as Montaigne, Bacon, Emerson, and Thoreau. In this fascinating journey into the commonalities and differences among these essayists, Kirklighter focuses on various elements of the personal essay-self-reflexivity, accessibility, spontaneity, and a rhetoric of sincerity-in order to argue for a more democratic form of writing in academia, one that would democratize the academy and promote nation-building. By using these elements in their teachings and writings, Kirklighter argues, educators can play a significant role in helping others who experience academic alienation achieve a better sense of belonging as they slowly dismantle the walls of the ivory tower.

Engages the complexities of teaching Latino/a students at Hispanic-Serving Institutions.This groundbreaking collection brings together the eclectic voices of two-year and four-year writing teachers at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) throughout the United States to explore the complexities of teaching writing with Latino/a students. Made up of narratives, qualitative studies, and conversations, the book presents the theories and practices of these experienced teachers. Its strength lies in the diversity of perspectives and methods used by these teachers to address many of the issues central to teaching Latino/a and other minority students: acknowledgment of difference, respect for diversity, student identity, students' right to their own language, and the valuing of home and school literacies and languages.

Extends the borders of essay scholarship by reading Latin American and Latino/a essayists alongside European and American ones.Scholarship on the personal essay has focused on Western European and U. S. varieties of the form. In Traversing the Democratic Borders of the Essay, Cristina Kirklighter extends these boundaries by reading the Latin American and Latino/a essayists Paulo Freire, Victor Villanueva, and Ruth Behar, alongside such canonical figures as Montaigne, Bacon, Emerson, and Thoreau. In this fascinating journey into the commonalities and differences among these essayists, Kirklighter focuses on various elements of the personal essay-self-reflexivity, accessibility, spontaneity, and a rhetoric of sincerity-in order to argue for a more democratic form of writing in academia, one that would democratize the academy and promote nation-building. By using these elements in their teachings and writings, Kirklighter argues, educators can play a significant role in helping others who experience academic alienation achieve a better sense of belonging as they slowly dismantle the walls of the ivory tower.

Extends the borders of essay scholarship by reading Latin American and Latino/a essayists alongside European and American ones.Scholarship on the personal essay has focused on Western European and U. S. varieties of the form. In Traversing the Democratic Borders of the Essay, Cristina Kirklighter extends these boundaries by reading the Latin American and Latino/a essayists Paulo Freire, Victor Villanueva, and Ruth Behar, alongside such canonical figures as Montaigne, Bacon, Emerson, and Thoreau. In this fascinating journey into the commonalities and differences among these essayists, Kirklighter focuses on various elements of the personal essay-self-reflexivity, accessibility, spontaneity, and a rhetoric of sincerity-in order to argue for a more democratic form of writing in academia, one that would democratize the academy and promote nation-building. By using these elements in their teachings and writings, Kirklighter argues, educators can play a significant role in helping others who experience academic alienation achieve a better sense of belonging as they slowly dismantle the walls of the ivory tower.

Engages the complexities of teaching Latino/a students at Hispanic-Serving Institutions.This groundbreaking collection brings together the eclectic voices of two-year and four-year writing teachers at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) throughout the United States to explore the complexities of teaching writing with Latino/a students. Made up of narratives, qualitative studies, and conversations, the book presents the theories and practices of these experienced teachers. Its strength lies in the diversity of perspectives and methods used by these teachers to address many of the issues central to teaching Latino/a and other minority students: acknowledgment of difference, respect for diversity, student identity, students' right to their own language, and the valuing of home and school literacies and languages.