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Contrary to many historical and contemporary beliefs, race is not a static, empirically-validated biological construction. Rather, the development of racial (and ethnic) categories—our own and others—is a complex and dynamic socio-rhetorical phenomena.

In other words, race – literally and figuratively – is written.

And so, instead of being a generally accepted material fact, Race – like many texts – has been and continues to be a contested site of meaning, one intrinsically bound to issues of power and dominance.

This is a story. Identity –
a story, told(/written). Race –
a story within a story, passed from lips
and hands, pressed
onto faces,
embodied and lived.


And there are Rules
to stories. Rules,
almost seemingly,
arbitrarily written, re-written, re-writable, endlessly.


And that’s Rhetoric –
the structure and the function,
the function of the structure,
of story.

This is site is an invitation to join us in the conversation about story - the story of the Rhetoric(s) of Race and Ethnicity, and its structure and function in the places we live – home, school, work, the world.  We hope you will follow our #WritingRace hashtag on twitter, and join us in our planned #WritingRace online events.