Educated
Claiming an Education Adrienne Rich
You cannot afford to
think of being here to receive an education, you will do much better to think
of yourselves as being here to claim one. One of the dictionary definitions of the
verb "to claim" is: to take as the rightful owner; to assert in the
face of possible contradiction. "To receive" is to come into
possession of, to act as receptacle or container for; to accept as
authoritative or true. The difference is that between acting and being
acted-upon.
Excerpt from Adrienne
Rich's convocation address, "Claiming an Education," Douglass
College, 1977. Douglass College was a renowned women's college, in operation
from 1918-2007. It is now named Douglass Residential College and is a part of
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
Full text of speech can
be found below.
PDF of Adrienne Rich's speech
The Guide
Each tab above opens to a new page with a new focus. If you came to me for a reference interview and I was to make you a folder of goods that would help support you in your studies – research, specifically – it would look like this. Think of this guide as a handy tool. If a word is colored, click on it and it will likely take you someplace else, just like you're used to when skulking around the Internet. If you need assistance at any time, do not hesitate to let me know.
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