“To Hell with Words, [SAY] Something!”: An Expressivist Manifesto for the Revival of Authentic Voice Amid RoboColonial Echoes of LLMs in Composition Studies

Abstract

This article explores the intersection of composition pedagogy and generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), arguing that large language models (LLMs) impose a robocolonial standardization of language. By mass-producing algorithmically predictable text based on Standard American English (SAE), LLMs threaten the tenets of Students’ Right to Their Own Language (SRTOL) and drown out diverse linguistic identities. The author distinguishes between the embodied, intentional discovery of meaning in human intelligence and the voiceless echo of formulaic LLM generation.

Applying Baudrillard’s theory of simulation, the author positions GenAI-produced texts as pure simulacra—copies that have lost all connection to a human referent. By synthesizing Baudrillard’s model with Bakhtin’s theories of centripetal and centrifugal linguistic forces, the project frames the expression of individual voice as a vital site of ontological resistance against machine assimilation.

To counter this standardization, the author proposes a revival of expressivist methods informed by Critical Posthumanist Literacy Theory. This framework prioritizes the human element in the First-Year Composition (FYC) classroom by focusing on:

Process over product
Embracing human error
Identifying technological ethical limitations
Integrating embodied practices
Implementing alternative assessments

Ultimately, the thesis argues that in an era of frictionless digital echoes, cultivating the grit of the human voice is no longer a mere stylistic choice. It is a necessary survival strategy for preserving human diversity and resisting the erasure of identity in composition studies.

Date of Award	2026
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	Eastern Illinois University
Supervisor	Rachael Ryerson (Supervisor)