USU Technical Communication and Rhetoric alumna Dr. Cana Uluak Itchuaqiyaq and Associate Professor and Associate Dean Rebecca Walton have published an article in Rhetoric Review. “Reviewer as Activist: Understanding Academic Review through Conocimiento” positions academic manuscript review as a site of activism wherein anonymous reviewers can be justice-oriented activists. Cana and Rebecca use Gloria Anzaldúa’s theory of conocimiento as a structure for mediating among potentially conflicting worldviews during the review process. Their work not only “provides a framework that...describes internal complexities but also prescribes a way forward for social justice action.”
The authors state, “In the seven stages of conocimiento, Anzaldúa describes the internal process an individual undergoes following a significant disruption that makes them recognize, question, and reconsider their worldview in light of this disruption. We propose that these stages offer a framework with particular relevance to the social justice turn in writing studies and their call to action in recognizing, revealing, rejecting, and replacing injustice, even when such action is unsanctioned or outside of institutional permissions. [...] We recognize in this world—these seven stages of conocimiento—a thought-provoking and productive framework for our own day-to-day tasks, such as reviewing journal manuscripts.”
The article grew out of discussions in a Critical Theory Reading Group that took place in the English Department when Rebecca was Cana’s dissertation advisor. Professor Emeritus Keith Grant-Davie encouraged Cana and Rebecca to write this article after the group read a piece featuring Anzaldúa’s work.
Rebecca says that the essay features a unique approach that combines academic writing with fictional narrative. She explains, “Storytelling and narrative are important tools of technical communication....This article uses a fictional narrative to illustrate our message; each section begins with the next installment of the narrative. It’s one of the most creative academic articles I’ve co-authored, and it was such a pleasure to co-author it with Dr. Itchuaqiyaq.”
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