“So I Painted It to Have the Meaning”: Exploring Critical Multimodal Literacy Practices With Youth

• In Event: Exploring Students’ Sociocultural and Sociopolitical Practices and Identities Through Multimodality and Embodiment

Abstract

In this paper, we examine how an art therapy and writing program grounded in critical multimodal literacy created space for adolescents to explore their racial, cultural, and social identities in a community organization that works with girls and gender expansive youth in high-risk situations through a holistic program of equine therapy and education. We ask: “How do critical multimodal literacies create space for youth to explore and express their racial, gender, cultural, and social identities?” Our findings suggest a) multiple modes of expression created opportunities for youth to center their identities; b) writing alongside their art allowed youth to interrogate existing power structures; and c) multimodal literacies enabled students to imagine possibilities and identities of past, present, and future selves.

Authors

• Crystal Chen Lee, North Carolina State University

• Katie Peachey, North Carolina State University

• Jennifer Danridge Turner, University of Maryland

• Angela M. Wiseman, North Carolina State University