Polyphonic Engagement and Transnational Dialogism: A Child’s Reading Response to Realistic Fiction

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Sunday 7:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Toward a Transnational Educational Research Agenda

Abstract

This qualitative case study examines how a multilingual, transnational child engages with a realistic fiction novel through emotional, cultural, and critical stances. Based on Rosenblatt’s (1978) transactional theory, Bakhtin’s (1981) dialogism, and transnational literacy frameworks (Canagarajah, 2013; Hornberger & Link, 2012; Skerrett, 2018), the study follows Rimal, a Pakistani child living in the U.S., as she reads Save Me a Seat (Weeks & Varadarajan, 2016). Data collected through think-alouds, interviews, drawings, and journals show how Rimal uses her cultural memory, linguistic resources, and identity awareness to interpret text. Her responses reveal the power of reading as identity negotiation and social critique. This study contributes to discussions of culturally sustaining pedagogy and the literacy potential of transnational youth.

Author

• Shazia Hamid, University of South Carolina, Columbia