Making Connections to Flourish: Critical Dialogue as an Approach to Healing, Restoration, and Antiracist Literacies

• In Event: Trauma, Healing, and Socioemotional Development in Literacy Education

Abstract

This study explores critical dialogue as a healing and restorative practice in literacy education, using duoethnography to examine its role in antiracist work. Grounded in decolonial feminist research, we highlight healing as an intergenerational movement and literacy education as a tool for change. Our findings advocate for restorative literacies that challenge systemic oppression, emphasizing relational, justice-driven pedagogy to support resilience, transformation, and coalition-building in academia.

Authors

• Dianne Tiffany Wellington, SUNY Cortland

• Amy Walker, Kent State University