"The Wrong Side of Privilege." Advocacy, Community, and Politics: The Collected Essays of Stephen J. Parks, 2000-2020
By Stephen J. Parks
Copy edited by Caitlin Kahihikolo. Designed by Mike Palmquist.
“The Wrong Side of Privilege” explores the historical development of community partnership frameworks in composition and rhetoric. It begins by situating partnership work within the political and cultural frameworks of the late 20th and early 21st century, including the rise of the conservative right and neoliberal economic policies. Following this introduction, Stephen J. Parks presents a series of essays which provides case studies of what “political work” implied during this period. The essays move in focus from local community contexts, such a neighborhood struggle against gentrification, to global contexts, such as the Syrian conflict and the larger Arab Spring. These essays engage with the leading scholars of community partnership work, such as Eli Goldblatt, Ellen Cushman, Linda Flower, and Paula Mathieu. The book concludes with a dialogue between the author and two global democratic advocates, Eli Goldblatt and Srdja Popović, on the necessity of public work in the face of declining global governance.
Table of Contents
Open the entire book: In PDF Format 
In ePub Format 
Preface, Kate Vieira
Chapter 1. Introduction: Re-Inventing the University—Politics as an Actual Practice, Stephen J. Parks
Chapter 2. Writing Beyond the Curriculum: Fostering New Collaborations in Literacy, Stephen J. Parks and Eli Goldblatt
Chapter 3. Strategic Speculations on the Question of Value: The Role of Community Publishing in English Studies, Stephen J. Parks
Chapter 4. Emergent Strategies for an Established Field: The Role of Worker-Writer Collectives in Composition and Rhetoric, Stephen J. Parks and Nicholas Pollard
Chapter 5. Sinners Welcome: The Limits of Rhetorical Agency, Stephen J. Parks
Chapter 6. Dreams and Nightmares: The Legal Legacy that Authorized Civil Detention Centers in the United States, Stephen J. Parks, Aaron Moss, and Lori Shorr
Chapter 7. Alliances, Assemblages, and Affects: Three Moments of Building Collective Working-Class Literacies, Stephen J. Parks, Jennifer Harding, Jessica Pauszek, and Nicholas Pollard
Chapter 8. The Goals of Grassroots Publishing in the Aftermath of the Arab Spring: Updates on a Work in Progress, Stephen J. Parks
Chapter 9. Then Comes Fall: Activism, The Arab Spring, and the Necessity of Unruly Borders, Stephen J. Parks, Bassam Alahmad, Dala Ghandour, Mohammed Masbah, and Emna Ben Yedder Tamarziste
Chapter 10. Syrians for Truth and Justice: Articulating Entanglements, Disrupting Disciplinarity, Stephen J. Parks, Bassam Alahmad, and Ashanka Kumari
Chapter 11. Of Rights Without Guarantees: Friction at the Borders of Nations, Digital Spaces, and Classrooms, Stephen J. Parks and Ahmed Abdelhakim Hachelaf
Chapter 12. “I Hear Its Chirping Coming from My Throat”: Activism, Archives, and the Long Road Ahead, Stephen J. Parks
Part 4. Conclusion
Chapter 13. Navigating on the Wrong Side of Privilege: Building a New Common Sense, Stephen J. Parks, Eli Goldblatt, and Srdja Popović
About the Author
Stephen J. Parks is Professor of English at the University of Virginia. He has published widely in scholarly journals and edited collections and is the author or co-author of five books, including Gravyland: Writing Beyond the Curriculum in the City of Brotherly Love (Syracuse UP) and Class Politics: The Movement for “The Students’ Right to Their Own Language” (NCTE). He has served as editor or co-editor of four book series, including NCTE/CCCC’s Studies in Writing and Rhetoric. His current research focuses on the ways in which community partnership work has been embedded within a pragmatism that fails to address the educational and political needs of resource-poor communities.
Publication Information: Parks, Stephen J. (2024). “The Wrong Side of Privilege.” Advocacy, Community, and Politics: The Collected Essays of Stephen J. Parks, 2000-2020. The WAC Clearinghouse; University Press of Colorado. https://doi.org/10.37514/PRA-B.2024.2432
Digital Publication Date: October 14, 2024
Print Publication Date: TBD
ISBN: 978-1-64215-243-2 (PDF) | 978-1-64215-244-9 (ePub) | 978-1-64642-717-8 (pbk.)
DOI: 10.37514/PRA-B.2024.2432
Contact Information:
Stephen J. Parks: sjp3st@virginia.edu
Practices & Possibilities
Series Editors: Aimee McClure, Clarke University; Kelly Ritter, Georgia Institute of Technology; Aleashia Walton, University of Cincinnati; and Jagadish Paudel, Clemson University
This book is available in whole and in part in Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF). It will also be available in a low-cost print edition from our publishing partner, the University Press of Colorado.
Copyright © 2024 Stephen J. Parks. Some material in the book is used with permission. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License. 290 pages, with notes, illustrations, bibliographies, and index. This book will be available in print from University Press of Colorado as well as from any online or brick-and-mortar bookstore. Available in digital formats for no charge on this page at the WAC Clearinghouse. You may view this book. You may print personal copies of this book. You may link to this page. You may not reproduce this book on another website. For permission requests and other questions, such as creating a translation, please contact the copyright holder.