Designed to Disrupt (the Machine): Zines as Artifacts of Personal and Disciplinary Literacies

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 9:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Social Change, Social Justice (Table 5)

Abstract

Historically, zines have been sites for defiance of print media conventions, as well as
pockets of rebellion and protest by nondominant identities. However, zines remain
underutilized in academic contexts, especially in interdisciplinary inquiry that integrates
social consciousness, critical STEAM reflection and literacies of self, community and
academic discipline(s). This paper examines how Black adolescent girls create zines to
position themselves in a Critical Machine Learning (CML) course. Using a mix of
qualitative, multivoiced and multimodal analysis, I examine the literacies at play within
two zines as focal case studies. Findings indicate the multiplicity of voice, and the
challenges of zine design and implementation. The girls-as-zinesters make visible moves
that align with and creatively defy the templates of their CML zines.

Authors

• Omer Zahid, Vanderbilt University

• Golnaz Arastoopour Irgens, Vanderbilt University