The Politics of the Personal Essay: Reading Adrienne Rich in the Women’s and Gender Studies Classroom

This article explores Adrienne Rich’s canonical 1984 speech-turned-essay “Notes toward a Politics of Location” and its utilization as a framework for a required writing assignment in a women’s and gender studies introductory course. This essay traces a pedagogical approach to teaching and applying “the personal is political” approach and offers an appraisal of the practice, considering power dynamics surrounding race, gender, sexual orientation, ability, and personal background. While Rich’s essay remains an important part of the feminist canon, this article argues that it is vital to supplement the piece with more contemporary works that better reflect student experiences today, particularly as a means of interrogating racial and gender privileges. Finally, this article offers a broader exploration of the personal essay as an academic assignment by interrogating pedagogical assumptions, objectives, and methods of assessment.