Graduate Program

English

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Semester of Degree Completion

2009

Thesis Director

Tim Taylor

Thesis Committee Member

Terri Fredrick

Thesis Committee Member

Donna Binns

Abstract

Rural community college students arguably face more barriers to socioeconomic class mobility than their urban peers. Rural students who attend college where the prevalence of working-class status is much higher and deal with the hindrances their geographical location inflicts have typically remained in their respective classes with little chance of change. However, just as their geographical location presents physical barriers to mobility, so does the rural/urban dichotomy which contains and urban biased definition of the elements of middle- and upper-class status. Part of the problem with this system of social class lies in the definitions that would have rural students denigrate their backgrounds to aspire to metropolitan definitions of value and social class. However, if rural students are to change their situations, they must be given the critical space necessary to analyze this system and determine for themselves what has value in their lives.

This thesis explores the work that can be done in rural community college composition classes by employing a critical literacy approach to analyzing social class and geographical location. I argue that the pragmatism brought on by working-class concerns and vocational track programs has led to the decreased emphasis on liberal arts education. And in the absence humanities-based learning, students are not given the space to critically analyze the constructs around them or contemplate the future career and life choices that require careful examination. Rural community college students following a critical studies approach to analyzing social class and the rural/urban dichotomy can come to find their own definitions of social class and what should have value in their lives, as well as celebrate the backgrounds from with they come while utilizing the recursive processes of writing.

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