Writing Teachers’ Experiences of Rupture, Resistance, and Resilience

Confronting Toxic Rhetoric: Writing Teachers’ Experiences of Rupture, Resistance, and Resilience (Peter Lang, Jan. 2025) contributes to the extant scholarship on toxic rhetoric, specifically the negative and extreme political discourse surrounding the Trump years of campaigning, rallying, tweeting, holding office and the ongoing culture war in the U.S. (Duffy, 2020). 

Authors Jamie While-Farnmham, professor in the writing program at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, Cathryn Molloy, professor of writing studies in the University of Delaware Department of English, and Bryna Siegel Finer, professor of English at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, the books explores how toxic rhetoric challenged the foundational purposes of teaching writing and rhetoric, such as ethical argumentation and critical thinking. 

Teachers’ narratives, case studies and reflections bring to light the ruptures, resistance and resilience of teaching amid the extreme polarization of partisan politics, distrust of science and increased hate speech, among other issues associated with toxic rhetoric. Readers will learn from teachers who were challenged to cope with toxic rhetoric, using both rhetorical and extra-disciplinary lenses. Their experiences present a vulnerable yet resolved expression of coping, activism, and belief in the future of rhetoric and democracy.