Bryna Siegel Finer, Department of Language, Literature, and Writing, published a new book with Peter Lang, Confronting Toxic Rhetoric: Writing Teachers’ Experiences of Rupture, Resistance, and Resilience. The collection, co-edited with Jamie White-Farnham (University of Wisconsin, Superior) and Cathryn Molloy (University of Delaware), contributes to the extant scholarship on toxic rhetoric, specifically the negative and extreme political discourse surrounding the Trump years of campaigning, rallying, tweeting, holding office, and the ongoing culture war in the US.
Toxic rhetoric challenges the foundational purposes of teaching writing and rhetoric, such as ethical argumentation and critical thinking. Teachers’ narratives, case studies, and reflections bring to light the ruptures, resistance, and resilience of teaching amid the extreme polarization of partisan politics, distrust of science, and increased hate speech, among other issues associated with toxic rhetoric.
Readers will learn from 12 teachers who were challenged to cope with toxic rhetoric, using both rhetorical and extradisciplinary lenses. Their experiences present a vulnerable yet resolved expression of coping, activism, and belief in the future of rhetoric and democracy.