The persistence of difference in networked classrooms: Non-negotiable difference and the African American student body

Abstract

This essay examines issues of diversity and literacy education primarily in terms of the concept of difference via a new term: non-negotiable difference. It argues that networked classrooms provide writing instructors with unique extra-linguistic cues (body language) that can help teachers and students become more responsive to racial difference. The essay discusses specifically the experiences of three African American students in a technical writing course and, on the basis of those experiences, concludes that scholars and critics should avoid universalizing so-called black experience.