Re/mixing Literacies to Dream Possible Futures: Imaginative Rupture in "Let's Talk About Election 2020"

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 8
  In Roundtable Session: Digital Literacies for Equitable Aims

Abstract

By integrating theories of literacies with the framework for youth as historical actors, we seek to examine the way youth mix literacies to articulate a vision of the future yet to be realized. Examining youth-made media clips created and posted in the months leading up to the 2020 US presidential election, we asked: In what ways and with what tools do youth imagine a liberatory future through civic composing? Conducting fine grained analyses of images and text in youth media that suggested rupture, we highlighted two phenomena that challenge or break dominant narratives: (1) conceptualizing time and space as textured and multi-dimensional rather than linear, and (2) referencing identity and community memberships as a way to build solidarity.

Authors

• Emma Bene, Stanford University

• Emma Carene Gargroetzi, The University of Texas at Austin

• Lynne Zummo, University of Utah