When the Subaltern Finally Speaks

Abstract

As a postcolonial Indian woman now living in the West, I managed to overcome my own circumstances by finding my voice and resisting the oppression of an abusive arranged marriage. Subsequently, as a teacher of at risk marginalized and immigrant youth in the inner cities of 21st century America, who continue to be “colonized” by a public education system which often dictates monolithic ways of knowing and being, it became my duty to help my students find their voices and speak their multiple truths, while simultaneously engaging them in mastering the academic and literacy skills needed to successfully navigate the world.This study describes a transformative personal narrative writing project implemented with 100 middle and high school students, resulting in two published anthologies of student writing in which students discover and express their newly found voices.