“Warriors, Not Victims”: Precious Knowledge, the Fight for Ethnic Studies, and Accountability to the #MeToo Movement

Vani Kannan,Alexis Martinez,Shyrlene Hernandez

doi:10.5195/rt.2020.775

Abstract

This article shares an upper-division writing course's struggle to be accountable to both the #MeToo movement and the fight for Ethnic Studies in Tucson. These movements collided in our class after we planned a campus screening of the film PRECIOUS KNOWLEDGE, which chronicles the student-led movement to save the Tucson High School Mexican American studies program, and then received news that the director had sexually assaulted one of the student-activists in the film. In this article, collaboratively-written by the professor teaching the course and two students in it, we share our accountability process, and concrete methods for social-movement-accountability in the writing classroom.

Highlights

I n the fall of 2018, Vani taught a course titled “Writing and Social Issues,” and Alexis (an English major) and Shyrlene (a nursing major) enrolled in it
I n the fall of 2018, Vani taught a course titled “Writing and Social Issues,” and Alexis and Shyrlene enrolled in it
Movements for education justice, including the rich history of CUNY student movements and ongoing struggles,4 were often present in class discussion

Summary

Introduction

I n the fall of 2018, Vani taught a course titled “Writing and Social Issues,” and Alexis (an English major) and Shyrlene (a nursing major) enrolled in it. Movements for education justice, including the rich history of CUNY student movements and ongoing struggles,4 were often present in class discussion.

Results

Conclusion