The Struggle and the Tools: Oral and Literate Strategies in an Inner City Community

by Cushman, Ellen

• ISBN13: 9780791439821
• ISBN10: 0791439828
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-11-01
• Publisher: State Univ of New York Pr

Summary

The Struggle and the Tools explores the daily lives and language use of African-American men, women, and children living in an inner city neighborhood. Based on three-and-a-half years of fieldwork, this book presents the oral, literate, and analytical strategies (the "tools") inner city residents use to gain resources, access to social institutions, and respect (the "struggle"). It honors both the types of agency present in the struggle, and the kinds of linguistic savvy present in the tools. It examines the deep games of power they play with their language and social consciousness and characterizes their daily experiences without glorification.

Author Biography

Ellen Cushman is a Senior Lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xxiii
Notational Devices	p. xxv
The Struggle and the Tools	p. 1
Activist Methodology	p. 21
African Americans and Quayville	p. 39
The Language of Eviction	p. 67
Institutional Language in an Inner City	p. 97
"Racism Always on the Front of My Mind"	p. 121
"An Everyday Fight for Us to Get Simple Respect"	p. 141
The Transfer of Language in Gatekeeping Interactions	p. 169
Evaluating the Tools	p. 189
"Your Honor, I Just Can't Control Him Anymore"	p. 205
Language and Power in the Everyday	p. 223
Notes	p. 241
Works Cited	p. 249
Index	p. 257
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