An Open Brodkey

Given the discussions that we had around Bordkey last week, I took the time to reread the essay for clarification and insight.  I think the early quote of Foucault "I want nothing to do with it insofar as it is decisive and final; I would like to feel it all around me, calm and transparent, profound, infinitely open with others responding to my expectations, and truth emerging, one by one..."  I think the essay highlights the struggle for teachers of composition as they are at the gates of discourse and must be the ones that are "open" and help generate the emerging "truth(s)" that are found in emerging discourse.  I use the term emerging discourse to suggest that "Discourse" is incomplete and thus always expanding as humans continue to communicate and widen the expression of the human discourse.  However, as it is with academic discourse, we have treated discourses with specific boundaries and purposes.  Thus, by nature each struggles to promote those ideals more than engage "open" interaction with the whole of emerging discourse.  The conflict resides in the need of standards.  I think the avenue or role of the teacher then is to open academic discourse up to the emerging discourses of the student and encourage the student to view their participation within that dialogue as an opportunity to expand their personal discourse and expand academic discourse and expand human discourse.  For example, we (academic discourse within our class experience) have
been exponentially expanded by Rick's sharing of his student's essay.  Ultimately then, as Brodkey says in the conclusion, "to teach is to authorize the subjects of educational discourse..."  and "...To say yes to those alternative subjectivities..." is to open human discourse for all that are willing to engage.