The Power and Possibility of Reading the Wor(l)d: Reclaiming Public Spaces in Honduras

• In Event: Literacies of Resistance: Race, Place, and Healing

Abstract

This paper explores the design and progress of international literacy educational project in Honduras where youth and artists “reclaim public spaces” from state-perpetuated violence by occupying streets, parks, prisons, and schools with poetry, music, and performances. Honduras has high rates of violence, yet this project generates shared public spaces where critical artistic dialogues can flourish. We (a U.S. academic and a Honduran community partner) began this project in Honduras in 2015, and support each other’s individual and collective research (along with the community’s and the project’s) goals in reciprocal ways. Given the national, racial, economic, linguistic, and power dynamics inherent in this project, critical conversations are necessary and perpetual as we work for a literacy-based social justice space.

Authors

• Kate E Kedley, Rowan University

• Hector Efren Flores, ApoyArte Honduras