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Academic writing is just as classed if not more than education. The label of "academic writing" in itself expects a certain level of education and sophistication in the reader. While in an ideal world education would not be determined by class, the two are very interconnected. Class determines access, plain and simple. It is not that nobody will give opportunity to those of less privilige, but awareness of opportunity/ability to maximize opportunity is limited by class. The complex world of Academia is included in that cycle - public vs. private institutions, better or worse school districts, a lot or not so much time available for studying, etc.

It is also fair to say that academic writing is more classed than education becuase not only must you have access to the education that might allow you to understand it, but you have to be able to apply that education to the text. Whether it's disability or having to allocate after school hours to work instead of researching details of the writing, there are a multitude of things that not even attending the right school could allow you to fully appreciate academic writing. Between this is and the occassionally stifling formality associated with academic writing, it is not my favorite writing to produce but as a student I cannot argue that it has it's place in my studies.

A friend of mine shared this link with me and I thought the video was so wonderful that I wanted to share it with all of you. I wish I could be half as eloquent as this young man is. 

Although cheesy, the saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” rings true. To express the concept of “right relationships”, I have “curated” an online exhibit of photographs. Although all of the photographs are real, because I have borrowed them from other websites, I have created my own titles for them. Additionally, for some of the photographs, the captions below the titles are not accurate for that specific photograph, but rather are based on the content of the photograph.

Because I am not computer-savvy enough to create a virtual gallery space, I will use my words to help you imagine the exhibition space in which this exhibit would be on display. Imagine a large, open room with light, sandy-colored wood floors and high white walls. There is also an expansive wall of windows allowing for natural sunlight to flood the gallery. The photographs would be 24” by 18” framed inside of a 2” white mat and a 1.5” solid black frame. The titles and captions would be printed on cards and mounted on the wall next to the bottom right-hand corner of the frame.

The Arc

Written on the wall, to be seen as the first thing when entering the exhibit:

Same with most people, I feel that academic writing obstructs the free flow of emotion. As student, I often feel stressed and nervous when I read academic essays. I keep telling myself I need to find out its thesis; otherwise it’s an unsuccessful reading experience. One thing that I really don’t like academic writing is that we have to hold a specific point and try to use our language to convince others. Even sometimes I know that the question actually have no correct answer and can be answered in many ways, I still need to write my essay pretending that only my thought is the ‘right’ one. So personally speaking I think academic writing leaves limited space for writes to develop their own explanations for questions and arguments.  

What’s more, academic wring is ‘classed’ because only certain groups of readers have the knowledge that can make them understand the content of an academic paper, others, however, have no access to it. For example, if you have never studied biology, then you may not be able to understand the point that a writer wants to make in a paper on topic of human evolution. Also, I notice that the language used by writers is always ‘standard English free of mistakes’, which is usually spoken by middle-classed white people.

When thinking about the class dimensions of academic writing, I wouldn’t instantly see class as being a determining factor of whether or not a piece of writing is academic or not. But I think that this class has made me second-guess myself and think of the class dimensions of academic writing. I would like to say, “yes, class is a determining factor of whether or not a piece of writing is academic or not” but as I think about it some more, I say to myself, “well…that was ignorant”. I think that my confusion about this has led me to rethink the definition of “academic writing”.

I think that there are many different ways to express and communicate ideas—it’s not only about sophisticated and often times confusing academic papers, it’s also about poetry and performances that are useful in communicating ideas to others. I think that ultimately, you can communicate ideas in whichever way to you want depending on how you understand and want to convey the idea. 

Academic Writing stays in the realm of academia. I think when talking about an issue that is very relevant and affects everyone, such as class, should be directed towards the main stream. But the writings of college grads, researchers, other unheard of intellectuals aren't going to get through to this generation. What media I think could touch many different groups is music. Music has been known to create change and influence how we think, dress, talk. The topic of class in built in many songs already but more as a description of what society is like currently. If we could utilize music in way that will foster change in how we view class I believe it will get the attention of a larger audience.

I have to admit.  My first thought is; "Fuck yes!".  Though this class has exposed us to a variety of academic texts that are rooted in the personal, academic writing definitely relies on a classed structure of densely worded prose and almost deliberately confusing wording.  In order to unlock the meaning of many academic texts, one has to have been taught or taught themselves an extensive vocabulary that is not used in every day speech.  When was the last time anyone used the word "hegemony" in everyday language?  Additionally, there are academic snigletts that get used in discussion and writing, such as "problematize", while coloquial delects are excluded.  

Academic writing and class go hand in hand. Class very often determines if one can write well academically because prepatory schools very often teach classical writing versus urban schools who teach more practice oriented writing e.g. technical writing. Prepatory schools are often private thus they require the family to have money and/or privelege to get into private school. Public schools have a limited budget and thus must pour money into other things versus what's really needed like writing or academics or textbooks. In that respect, academic writing is classed according to what kind of school you could afford to attend.