In this article Mathieu and Sosnoski talk about what they believe is the “dying” field of cultural studies. This is not to say they think the field is dying or should die, but instead that the theory as we know it is dying. It is time for a change. They argue that cultural studies has many complaints against it, but focus on one: “its reliance on ‘cultural critique’ as a pedagogical technique” (325). They suggest that the idea of critiquing has rhetorical limits. While they respect and admire Berlin’s ideas of the cultural critique “method”, they do not think it works. Instead, they offer up a comparison of cultural practices as a way into cultural critique. This comparative method seems to work. I must say, I like it a lot.
After reading the article by Paula Mathieu and James J. Sosnoski I am left with the desire to have my students do an assignment like theirs. To have the students explore a problem in their own school seems so simple, such an obvious assignment, but it is something I have never done. I love the idea of comparing our school to others and having them express their wants and needs. We have students who do express their concerns, once a year, to the administration, but they are not the voices of my students. I teach the lowest level kids, the kids who never get heard. They usually do not get heard because they do not say what they have to say in an acceptable way. If they had a voice, and they thought it might make a difference, then maybe they could learn to use their voice in an acceptable way. I am going to do this.
