Complicating Postcolonial Logics: Towards Transraciolinguistic Justice in Literacy Instruction

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 9:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Social Change, Social Justice

Abstract

Traditional U.S. literacy instruction has historically favored monolingual, monoracial, and monocultural perspectives, often neglecting multilingualism and multiculturalism. This is due to raciolinguistics, the ideological intersection of race and language, which dictates "suitable" literacy pathways. We argue that transraciolinguistics, a function of colonial legacies, exacerbates this, leading to the unjust application of literacy instruction across diverse populations.
In this paper, we re-evaluate the institutional and societal lineage of U.S. literacy instruction through a transraciolinguistic lens, focusing on 21st-century policies. We contend these policies have misrepresented literacy, creating "gaps" and a "science of reading" that perpetuates raciolinguistic injustice. Amidst increasing global interconnectedness, we advocate for reshaping literacy instruction to foster transraciolinguistic justice both domestically and internationally.

Authors

• Darlshawn Patterson, University of South Florida

• Patriann Smith, University of South Florida

• Arlette I. Willis, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign