Praxis and Unfinishedness in the Public Turn: Critical Democratic Pedagogy and Civic Engagement in First-Year Composition

by Kuebrich, Benjamin D.

This thesis analyzes two semesters of first-year composition that I taught in the 2007-2008 school year. In curriculum design, writing tasks, and daily interactions, I attempted to create democratic and critical spaces for student interaction with other students and the public outside the classroom. I situate my descriptions of these classroom practices in disciplinary debates about composition's public turn and in wider cultural debates about democracy, decision-making, and civic engagement.