Re/Reading and Re/Writing the Wor(l)d: Engaging in Racialized Conversations to Reimagine Literacy Engagement for Justice

Session Type: Invited Speaker Session

Abstract

As race and racism continue to be part of the social dialogue, it becomes a moral, ethical, and pragmatic imperative to develop and/or evolve educational discourses that allow educators and other stakeholders to engage in thoughtful, robust, and reflective conversations about race and racism. Literacy functions uniquely in this regard as discussions about race and racism can be dynamic and multidimensional, deepening our understanding conceptually, historically, and practically, while informing our notions of equity, egalitarianism, and justice. We can see how these conversations influence a variety of educational spaces whether they be conventional school classrooms and buildings, out-of-school learning contexts, literacy instruction across content areas, teacher education programs, or digital spaces.

In this presidential session, researchers, researcher-practitioners, and teacher educators who work at the nexus of race/racism, literacy, and learning share their insights on how literacy education can be transformed to redress historical and contemporary forms of oppression by offering liberatory acts of knowledge production, instructional practices, and educational outcomes. Questions that inform this session are:
1) What illuminating frameworks help educators reach new understandings about race, racism, and literacy?
2) How can fear of race/racism conversational exchanges be challenged to cultivate more strategic, intentional, and empowering discussions?
3) What are the pragmatic implications and applications for centering race/racism, literacy, and learning?

As conceived, this session provides attending participants the opportunity to hear and engage with leading experts in the area of race, racism, and literacy to put forth new understandings, informative paradigms, and creative practices, while also challenging what appears to be immutable ways of knowing and doing that have persisted in causing educational, communal, and individual harm.

Sub Unit

• AERA Presidential Session

Cosponsor

• International Literacy Association

Chair

• Katrina Liu, University of Nevada - Las Vegas

Presenters

• Nicholas Daniel Hartlep, Berea College

• Guofang Li, University of British Columbia

• Detra Price, The Ohio State University

• Timothy J. San Pedro, The Ohio State University

• Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Sophia Tatiana Sarigianides, Westfield State University

• Carlin Borsheim-Black, Central Michigan University

Discussants

• Patricia A. Edwards, Michigan State University

• Jevon D. Hunter, Buffalo State University - SUNY