Lu, Min-Zhan. “Professing Multiculturalism: The Politics of Style in the Contact Zone.” Cross-Talk in Comp Theory, edited by Victor Villanueva and Kristin L. Arola, National Council of Teachers of English, 2011, pp. 467-483.

In the article “Professing Multiculturalism: The Politics of Style in the Contact Zone,” Min-Zhan Lu explores “how to conceive and practice teaching methods which invite a multicultural approach to style, particularly those styles of student writing which appear to be ridden with ‘errors’” (467).  She shows her exploration and and method through anecdotal evidence of two writers that faced questions of their writing expertise, as well as a recount of an analysis with her students of a student’s writing response to an essay by Haunani-Kay Trask. Her purpose is to show a method that allows for both style and convention on the students’ own terms in order to offer a better way to teach within the realm of contact zones and multiculturalism, to have a realistic approach that allows to students to see the inequality in what is deemed correct or incorrect, but also how to navigate through a system that requires them to know what is “correct”. She directs her ideas to teachers. As a student and possible future teacher, I understand the merits of her method, and understand that it is necessary to both address hegemony in academia whilst still teaching convention, although it always feels a little disappointing; however, I would say this is probably the most satisfying method I’ve come across as I always struggle with ideas on how to teach in a way that challenges the power structures whilst still giving students the tools they need to succeed in the system they have to navigate.