Literacies in the New Information Environment: A Focus on Affect, Identity, and Dissensus

• In Event: Affects, Intimate Literacies, and (Re)Imagined Curricular Possibilities

Abstract

This paper explores how, in support of democracy, contemporary literacy education might respond to the new information environment. This environment is characterized by high levels of youth engagement in social media, pervasive mis- and disinformation, and technological manipulations. Using literature on multiliteracies, I designed a study examining how high school students engage with information in academic and personal settings. Using data from in-class observations, surveys, and teacher and student interviews, I learnt that students and teachers are concerned about issues such as identity and affect, and that the current curriculum does not afford time or space for engagement with these issues. As such, this paper suggests that literacy education renew an emphasis on affect, identity, and space for dissensus.

Author

• Lana Parker, University of Windsor