Don't Dismiss the List: The Value of Writing Extraordinary Issues into Ordinary Forms

Gina Danielle Tranisni Keplinger

Gina Danielle Tranisni Keplinger University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Abstract

"Don't Dismiss the List" chronicles the rhetorical moves of Peggy McIntosh, Kate Bornstein, and Jamaica Kincaid in "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack," Gender Outlaw, and "Girl" respectively. In these works, each writer utilizes a traditional or variant list form to explore the seemingly insurmountable issues of racial, gendered, and cultural identity. At its best, "Don't Dismiss the List" is a successful hybrid, acting as both a rhetorical analysis of these writings and an imitation of them. Just as McIntosh's, Bornstein's, and Kincaid's pieces do, this essay strives for innovation, visual interest, and the full engagement of its readers. "Don't Dismiss the List" is a playful attempt at pedagogy, reaching for new ways to grab listeners' attention and teach them something invaluable - about reading, about writing, about life.

Author Biography

Gina Danielle Tranisni Keplinger, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Gina Keplinger is now a first year M.A. student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln studying Composition and Rhetoric. After graduation, she plans to earn a PhD. Gina is most looking forward to changing her prefix from “Ms.” to “Dr.”