Journal Articles and Book Chapters by Lucia Trimbur
This essay analyzes the role of sport protest under the current United States presidential admini... more This essay analyzes the role of sport protest under the current United States presidential administration. Protest has long been a feature of sporting rituals; social unrest in this realm is not new. However, at this moment, activism in sport allows us to see larger political alliances, affinities, and solidarities in a particularly useful way. I argue that the world of sport is fostering discussion, debate, and dissent that are uncommon and largely unavailable in other spaces, which, in turn, is opening up a new counterpublic. I offer two examples of challenges athletes have made to anti-Black racism, class inequality, and sexism, with one highly visible, and one less visible. And I contend that these actions are refusals that both draw on and differ from the iconic sporting refusal of the 1960s Civil Rights era-the image of the Black athlete standing alone on the victory stand-by highlighting the role of symbolic action in prompting democratic deliberation.
This article examines how a group of men negotiate the social problems that postindustrial racial... more This article examines how a group of men negotiate the social problems that postindustrial racial, class, and gender hierarchies create. In a Brooklyn boxing gym, trainers coach amateur fighters inside and outside the ring. In the ring, trainers prepare amateurs for competition and help them develop masculine identities. Outside the ring, trainers provide forms of social support. As trainers engage these practices, they negotiate a discursive tension. When they work with boxers, trainers use discourses espousing individualism and personal responsibility. And yet, when talking about the motivation for their work, trainers utilize discourses critiquing systemic inequality and anti-black racism. This article analyzes the presence of these apparently contradictory discourses. I argue that neoliberal ideology at the structural level is rearticulated as critical discourse in the gym; context shifts meaning.
Qualitative Sociology, 2009
This article examines how former prisoners of color conceptualize their political, social, and ec... more This article examines how former prisoners of color conceptualize their political, social, and economic futures and how these conceptualizations relate to the racialized social structural obstacles encountered upon reentry and decisions to re-engage criminal labor. I find that, presented with similar post-prison challenges, excarcerated men take several approaches when reentering society. I argue that the differences among their approaches lie in their varying interpretations of how they can act as individuals against and within their social structural limitations. Their decisions to rejoin or forfeit participation in criminal economies are thus shaped by experiences confronting the limitations of material conditions but also emerge from their critiques of racialized structures.
Reviews by Lucia Trimbur
In the late 1990s Britain's armed forces faced a crisis. Dwindling numbers of enlisting soldiers ... more In the late 1990s Britain's armed forces faced a crisis. Dwindling numbers of enlisting soldiers and low retention rates created staffing shortages that threatened operations in Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, and East Timor. Deep-seated racism, a lack of diversity, and bullying within the forces endangered the military's morale and public image. To address these problems, in 1998 the Ministry of Defence (MoD) dropped its five-year residency requirement, broadening the pool of applicants to people in over 50 countries. By 2010, 7,895 soldiers from the Commonwealth countries, Ireland, and Nepal were part of the British Army. In Military Migrants: Fighting for YOUR Country, Vron Ware analyzes the formation of "an integrated,
Articles for Popular Press by Lucia Trimbur
Papers by Lucia Trimbur
College English, 2006
John Trimbur is professor of writing and rhetoric and co-director of the professional writing pro... more John Trimbur is professor of writing and rhetoric and co-director of the professional writing program at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He has published extensively in writing theory, including with Bruce Horner the Richard Braddock Award-winning "English Only and U.S. College Composition." His current research is on the politics of English in the United States and in South Africa.
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Journal Articles and Book Chapters by Lucia Trimbur
Reviews by Lucia Trimbur
Articles for Popular Press by Lucia Trimbur
Papers by Lucia Trimbur