Cosmopolitan Literacies: Examining the Transnational Turn in Research and Pedagogy

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

This panel brings together scholars from diverse contexts to examine literacy practices in light of the “transnational turn” in the field. The presentations focus on a range of empirical projects in schools and communities experiencing unprecedented linguistic, cultural, religious, and experiential pluralism. The panel examines the overlaps and divergences in terminology used to understand the impact of trends in social and cultural diversity (e.g. ‘superdiversity’; ‘cosmopolitanism’; ‘local/global’), provides in-depth international accounts of how individuals and social groups navigate literacies in areas of increasing plurality and global connectivity, and addresses the research, practice, and policy implications of work that moves away from overly bounded associations between language, literacy, and nationhood.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Writing and Literacies

Chair

• Brian V. Street, King's College London

Papers

• Critical Cosmopolitanisms in a Multilingual Faith-Based Community - Gerald Campano, University of Pennsylvania; Maria Paula Ghiso, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Teachers as Cosmopolitan Agents: Putting Diversity at the Pedagogical Center - Amy Stornaiuolo, University of Pennsylvania

• Interplay of Social Factors in Literacy Practices in a Brazilian Metropolitan Neighborhood - Maria L. Castanheira, Federal University of Minas Gerais

• Community Arts Zone: Where Community Meets Composition - Jennifer Rowsell, Brock University

Discussant

• Rob Simon, University of Toronto