Why We Write: The Politics and Practice of Writing for Social Change
New York; Abingdon: Routledge (2005), 191 pp.
ISBN 978-0-415-97321-2; 9780203958735 (online)
"This volume grew out of the Why We Write conference held at Columbia University in the spring of 2003. The conference was the second part of a series of conferences organized by graduate students in the history department that explored issues related to history, social change, and the politics of writing. The proceedings from the first conference were published as Taking Back the Academy: History of Activism, History as Activism (Routledge, 2004). The Why We Write conference drew participants from across disciplines and academic fields and also included, among others, filmmakers, journalists, playwrights, novelists, and poets from in and beyond the United States. The focus of the conference was to examine writing, broadly defined. As such the panels ranged from historical discussions on print culture and the use of theory in U.S. history to roundtable discussions on gender and sexuality to workshops on teaching writing and publishing one’s research." (Acknowledgements, page vii)
Introduction: When and Why We Enter / Jim Downs, 1
I. WHY I WRITE: PERSONAL REFLECTIONS
1 Why I Write / John d'Emilio, 11
2 Why I Write / Catherine Clinton, 17
3 Why I Write / Timothy Patrick Mccarthy, 27
4 Why I Write / Jennifer Morgan, 39
II. THE PROCESS OF WRITING
5 Disoriented in the Orient: A U.S. Historian Goes Transnational / Jung H. Pak, 49
6 Narratives of Sexual Conquest: A Historical Perspective on Date Rape / Jennifer Fronc, 61
7 Her Heart, My Hands: Writing an Intimate Life / Caitlin Love Crowell, 69
8 Writing for History: Journalism, History, and the Revival of Narrative / Jill Lepore, 83
9 "We Should Grow Too Fond of It": Why We Love the Civil War / Drew Gilpin Faust, 95
III. THE POLITICS OF WRITING
10 Our Silences Will Hurt Us: Journalistic Writing in a Women's Prison / Eleanor M. Novek and Rebecca Sanford, 111
11 To Keep My Body Clean, To Breathe, To Give My Mind Rest / Sasha Kamini Parmasad, 125
12 Diary of a Mad Law Student / Jodi Bromberg, 139
13 A Drawbridge to the Ivory Tower: Brokering the Politics of Environmental Studies / Daniel J. Sherman, 147
14 Why I Don't Write / Erme C. Maula, 159
I. WHY I WRITE: PERSONAL REFLECTIONS
1 Why I Write / John d'Emilio, 11
2 Why I Write / Catherine Clinton, 17
3 Why I Write / Timothy Patrick Mccarthy, 27
4 Why I Write / Jennifer Morgan, 39
II. THE PROCESS OF WRITING
5 Disoriented in the Orient: A U.S. Historian Goes Transnational / Jung H. Pak, 49
6 Narratives of Sexual Conquest: A Historical Perspective on Date Rape / Jennifer Fronc, 61
7 Her Heart, My Hands: Writing an Intimate Life / Caitlin Love Crowell, 69
8 Writing for History: Journalism, History, and the Revival of Narrative / Jill Lepore, 83
9 "We Should Grow Too Fond of It": Why We Love the Civil War / Drew Gilpin Faust, 95
III. THE POLITICS OF WRITING
10 Our Silences Will Hurt Us: Journalistic Writing in a Women's Prison / Eleanor M. Novek and Rebecca Sanford, 111
11 To Keep My Body Clean, To Breathe, To Give My Mind Rest / Sasha Kamini Parmasad, 125
12 Diary of a Mad Law Student / Jodi Bromberg, 139
13 A Drawbridge to the Ivory Tower: Brokering the Politics of Environmental Studies / Daniel J. Sherman, 147
14 Why I Don't Write / Erme C. Maula, 159
