Constructing Authority: Performativity, Podcasts, and Composition

Jones, Leigh A. "Podcasting and Performativity: Multimodal Invention in an Advanced Writing Class." Composition Studies 38.2 (2010): 75-91. Web. 10 Oct. 2013.

In the article noted above, Leigh Jones argues for compositionist to use a combination of performance studies and multimodal discourse theories in conjunction with rhetorical strategies (invention, specifically) to improve the invention process and to help students establish an authoritative voice in their writing.

Jones posits that fear of risk-taking hinders the writing process for students, specifically during invention. According to Jones, risk-taking is important because "risks are required for academic productivity and creativity. Writing is a transformative process in that it requires us to imagine our audiences and ourselves anew [...]" (76). To encourage students in these areas, Jones recommends using podcasts to “mak[e] their risky invention process more productive and their writing process more transformative (79).

The podcast assignment, presented at the beginning the research paper, required students, in teams of two, to create a five-minute podcast. The podcast was to inform the class about a controversial issue in the news that the student planned to write about over the semester. Working with their partners, students had freedom as to whose topic was used or not used and the content of the script. Completed after an annotated bibliography, the podcasts provided an audience for the annotated bibliography and helped students to productively use their preliminary research to create content for their podcasts. The assignment required students to pretend to be experts/authorities on their subject. Because students knew the podcast would be played for the class, many recorded and re-recorded in hopes to make their podcast more effective. This, according to Jones, shows audience awareness during the invention process, which impacted their arrangement, summaries, and explanations in the podcasts.

According to Jones, performance is inherent in composition. The writing classroom, itself, is a “performative space that is most often treated as natural in the moment” (79). The performance of teacher as authority and students as learners negatively impacts the writing process, as students are asked to go from being subordinates in the class to authorities within their writing. Podcasting as “an epistemological tool in the invention process” allows students to pretend to have authority, changing the dynamic of the classroom and shifting their perspective on their writing and their authority over their subject (78).

I recommend Jones’ article to scholars in rhetoric and composition because his research presents a path to joining classical rhetoric (invention) with contemporary discourse/writing (podcast). As all our lives are more digitally mediated, multimodal discourse becomes more important.  Integrating multimodal writing will help prepare students for writing in and for these environments. Jones’ article does not provide definitive answers to questions of using technology in the classroom or effectively teaching the writing process; however, it does add to the conversation on performance studies and the importance of multimodal composition. I think podcasting maybe the first of many “performative epistemology” tools that can help students with the writing process and increase rhetorical awareness.