Shifting the Boundaries of Literacy: Writing, Identity, and Authenticity in Multiple Contexts

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

This symposium investigates the overlooked complexities of writing within literacy research, addressing how positionalities and conventional practices perpetuate inequities in power, voice, modality, and language. By exploring the theory of liminality in writing across diverse contexts, the session aims to challenge static concepts and promote deeper field connections. The four papers presented draw from various projects, including a university-community partnership, creative writing as a transformative ritual, child-centered multimodal methodologies, and bilingual students' literacy practices. Each paper contributes unique insights, highlighting self-discovery, cultural expression, and educational equity. This session aims to answer how literacy researchers can address and remedy inequities in educational writing practices across diverse contexts, fostering a more inclusive and just education system.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Writing and Literacies

Chair

• Mellinee K. Lesley, Texas Tech University

Papers

• The Liminality of Collaborative Publishing with School Partners in an Engaged Scholarship Project - Mellinee K. Lesley, Texas Tech University

• Researching-Writing In the Liminal: Embracing My Humanity - Rene Saldana, Texas Tech University

• Mapping Children’s Identity and Belonging through Mapping in Multimodal Composition - Seongryeong Yu, Old Dominion University; Hyeju Han, National Louis University; Hyoju Ahn, Northern Illinois University

• Charting Multilingual Writing: Emergent Bilinguals' Navigation of Linguistic and Semiotic Worlds - Sung-ae Kim, Seoul National University; Jin Kyeong Jung, Texas Tech University; Romario Montaño-Ramos, Texas Tech University

Discussant

• Joshua M. Cruz, Texas Tech University