Connecting bell hooks' Observations 
to Your Research


bell hooks reference
Relevance to you as a writer: 
In your experience…
Relevance to your writer 
your research site
(p. 177) Class in the classroom: hooks claims that class is ignored in the university classroom …has class been ignored, either in your personal experience or in your classroom experiences? Are class differences present in this workplace, and if so, are they ignored? Do people acknowledge class differences in any ways?
(177) Democracy: hooks says we think, perhaps wrongly, that the classroom is an equal, “democratic space” …have classrooms been a democratic space?  Aside from the teacher having power, have certain groups of students had power over others by being able to participate more easily in the style of classroom discussion because of their class backgrounds? Is the workplace a democratic space in terms of class differences?  Aside from bosses or managers who tell others what to do, do the modes of communication privilege those from some backgrounds more than those from other backgrounds?
(177) Class background: hooks describes her “non-materially privileged background” … is your background “nonmaterially privileged”?  If so (or, if not), does your background have any relevance to the way you perform various writing tasks? Is your writer from a nonmaterially privileged background?  Does the background of your contact have any relevance to the way he or she performs various writing tasks?
(178) Decorum: hooks says that class is more than merely finances; it's also a matter of decorum, of behaving in ways deemed proper for a particular social setting … where have you seen value placed on decorum?  Has it ever been difficult for you to behave with the decorum appropriate to a particular situation? Is there a high value placed at your worksite on decorum, either in proper modes of writing, dress, environment, or language?  If so, might these values be talked about in terms of social class?
(179) Social censorship: hooks explains the censoring process that reinforces acceptable values and mores … have you experienced such censoring processes in your life or in your education?  Or has your background helped you to feel less censored because you already know how to display acceptable values and mores? Are acceptable values, beliefs, and behaviors enforced at the worksite your are observing?  If so, how?  If not, why not? 
(181) Adaptation: hooks on the difficulties that students from non-materially privileged backgrounds have adapting, and how they do so …do you feel you have ever had to adapt in this way?  When has your background not prepared you for how to behave in acceptable ways in a particular environment? Do you see evidence that your writer has had to adapt in the ways hooks explains?
(185) Finding a voice: hooks writes about the efforts of those who have been silenced to  “come to voice” … do you feel that you have had trouble “coming to voice” in this sense, either in the classroom or as a writer? Does your writer feel that he or she has had similar difficulties finding a voice in this workplace?  Has this person's background been a factor either way in this regard?

 

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