The Wrong Side of Privilege: Advocacy, Community, and Politics: The Collected Essays of Stephen J. Parks, 2000-2020

＂The Wrong Side of Privilege＂ explores the historical development of community partnership frameworks in composition and rhetoric. It begins by situating partnership work within the political and cultural frameworks of the late 20th and early 21st century, including the rise of the conservative right and neoliberal economic policies. Following this introduction, Stephen J. Parks presents a series of essays which provides case studies of what ＂political work＂ implied during this period. The essays move in focus from local community contexts, such a neighborhood struggle against gentrification, to global contexts, such as the Syrian conflict and the larger Arab Spring. These essays engage with the leading scholars of community partnership work, such as Eli Goldblatt, Ellen Cushman, Linda Flower, and Paula Mathieu. The book concludes with a dialogue between the author and two global democratic advocates, Eli Goldblatt and Srdja Popovic, on the necessity of public work in the face of declining global governance.

Stephen J. Parks is Professor of English at the University of Virginia. He has published widely in scholarly journals and edited collections and is the author or co-author of five books, including Gravyland: Writing Beyond the Curriculum in the City of Brotherly Love (Syracuse UP) and Class Politics: The Movement for ＂The Students’ Right to Their Own Language＂ (NCTE). He has served as editor or co-editor of four book series, including NCTE/CCCC’s Studies in Writing and Rhetoric. His current research focuses on the ways in which community partnership work has been embedded within a pragmatism that fails to address the educational and political needs of resource-poor communities.