Producing Good Citizens: Literacy Training in Anxious Times

Acknowledgments

ix While writing a book about citizenship, I’ve learned that the virtues of a single citizen are shaped by the citizenship of others. In that spirit, I must acknowledge the importance of those around me who have helped make this book possible . They should take all of the credit and none of the blame. I am grateful for the collegiality and generosity of colleagues in the field of writing studies. Deb Brandt, Cathy Chaput, John Duffy, Jess Enoch, Bruce Horner, Asao Inoue, Connie Kendall Theado, and Morris Young probably don’t realize it, but they have all been kind in ways that have encouraged this work. Linda Adler-Kassner, Juan Guerra, John Schilb, and a reviewer for College English all provided valuable feedback when I was still in the conceptual stages of this project. Kirk Branch and John Trimbur provided careful and honest responses to an earlier draft of this book and clarified my thinking in immeasurable ways. I am especially thankful for their contributions. The City University of New York’s pre-tenure release time allowed me to finish this book, and I thank my union, PSC-CUNY, for their tireless efforts to guarantee research leave and parental leave for all faculty at CUNY. My research has also been supported by grants from the CUNY Research Foundation and release time and writing support from the CUNY Faculty Fellowship Publication program. The CUNY composition and rhetoric faculty have made a welcoming intellectual home. Kelly Bradbury, Leigh Jones, Mark McBeth, Tim McCormack, Corey Mead, Rebecca Mlynarczyk, Sondra Perl, and Cheryl Smith, along with Kate O’Donoghue, Lisa Vaia, and Dominique Zino, are just a few who are integral to the work of composition at CUNY. My colleagues in the English department at Queens College have creatacknowledgments x acknowledgments ed a lively, supportive, and shockingly sane community for junior faculty. I am grateful for the tireless efforts of chairs Glenn Burger and Nancy Comley to make that possible. Ryan Black, Duncan Faherty, Kevin Ferguson, Gloria Fisk, Caroline Hong, Sian Silynn Roberts, Kim Smith, Eric Song, Jason Tougaw, Andrea Walkden, and Karen Weingarten have been significant to my life, both inside and outside of Klapper Hall. I know how lucky I am to be in their company. This book is graced with amazing cover art. Thank you to Marc Fasanella for suggesting it and to Sara Harari from the Andrew Edlin Gallery for working out the details. Special thanks to Josh Shanholtzer and Alex Wolfe from the University of Pittsburgh Press, who have been steadying and encouraging throughout this process. Kathy Meyer’s careful eye has been invaluable. I am also indebted to Jay Barksdale at the New York Public Library for providing such warm support for scholars. Never underestimate the enduring influence of a graduate program. The Center for Writing Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign produced a community of scholars that continues to challenge and nurture me. Over the years, Elizabeth Baldridge, Patrick Berry, Kory Ching, Melissa Girard, Christa Olson, Kim Hensley Owens, Jim Purdy, and Janine Solberg have given me their time, their insights, and most importantly, their friendship , all of which have made this project better. I am particularly thankful for Patrick Berry and Janine Solberg, who have read every word of this book, many times. Debbie Hawhee, Gail Hawisher, Peter Mortensen, and Cathy Prendergast have been model mentors. Thanks to them for allowing me to continue taking advantage of their unflagging guidance. Peter Mortensen deserves special acknowledgment. Everyone should be lucky enough to have an advisor and friend as intelligent, generous, encouraging, and hilarious as Peter. I am fortunate enough to be related to people, including my grandparents and the rest of my extended family, who give me much needed perspective for all of my research. My parents, Sam and Chun Wan, might be confused about how an engineer and an accountant produced a writing teacher, but they have given me unconditional parental encouragement and lots of free childcare . Special thanks to Debby Wan, who has been my ally, co-conspirator, and cheerleader for a lifetime. I could not conjure up a better partner than Donovan Finn. His love, support , and commitment to an equitable household have enabled me to do this work. He and Elliott deserve the biggest thanks of all for sustaining me, for being such good sports, and for making it all worthwhile. Producing Good Citizens ...