Professor Kent Ono, "A letter/ essay I've been meaning to write in my personal/ academic voice"

First-Year Writing (Stretch)

In this class, we will explore issues of voice, identity, and writing (and speaking, reading, listening). One of my favorite questions to begin this journey is by simply asking “what is the purpose of education?” Your answer to that question forms the foundation for your relationship with college, but more than that, your answer determines how you build relationships with one another and the people and places you love. This course will cover some of the competing narratives about what education for, why it does/ does not work, and offer you ways to contextualize your experiences as a writer and student within larger social stories and histories. 

Our specific section of 104 will focus on social justice, centering the movements, moments, and people who used their voices for building more equitable classrooms and a more equitable world. I am committed to including minoritized voices in our course, and I hope you will support this effort as well. This means listening to people of various linguistic, racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds. At times you will share identities or have experiences in common with the authors we read, with each other, with me, and with your own audiences. When possible, I also invite us to think about (in celebration and in critique) our shared life here at SF State, the Bay Area, and California, even if virtually. You also share a life in a STEM Metro Academy. As many of you know, learning does not happen in a bubble or in isolation. 

In this spirit, I extend to you an enthusiastic welcome to English 104 and invite you to share your questions, concerns, interests, and expertise as we move through this semester together.