1st Edition
Literacy in Times of Crisis Practices and Perspectives
"Fresh, provocative, timely, and important, this volume extends the field of sociocultural literacies in new directions."--Marjorie Faulstich Orellana, University of California, Los Angeles
On the frontline of critical issues in education today, this book covers new ground for teachers and teacher educators for whom crisis is a daily part of their work. It explores the relationship between crisis and literacy in order to:
- improve educators’ ability to recognize, cope with, and avoid crisis;
- advance understanding of the dynamic relationship between crisis and cultural, historical, and political literacy practices; and
- contribute to a deeper theoretical understanding of literacy practices as they are situated in social practices.
The types of crises addressed are diverse, including natural disaster, cultural and community disjuncture, homelessness, family upheaval, teen pregnancy, and disability. Along with nine empirical studies, a teacher early in her career, a veteran teacher, and teacher educators share their perspectives in commentary sections at the opening and conclusion of the book in order to provide applications to their specific fields.
Preface
Personal Prologue
Chapter 1: Introduction: Examining Crisis, Laurie MacGillivray and Devon Brenner
Commentator Introductions, Tracy Sweeney (Early Career Teacher), Jane Fung (Veteran Teacher) and Elizabeth Moje (Teacher Educator)
Part I: Reading and Writing in Times of Crisis
Chapter 2: Making Contact in Times of Crisis: Literacy Practices in a Post-Katrina World, April Whatley Bedford and Devon Brenner
Chapter 3: "Hallelujah!" Bible-based Literacy Practices of Children Living in a Homeless Shelter, Laurie MacGillivray
Chapter 4: Reactions to Divorce: Communication and Child Writing Practices, Gisele Ragusa
Chapter 5: When daddy goes to prison: Examining crisis through fanfiction and poetry, Mary K. Thompson
Chapter 6: Reading and Writing Teenage Motherhood: Changing Literacy Practices and Developing Identities, Kara L. Lycke
Chapter 7: Disability Identification: Shifts in Home Literacy Practices, Gisele Ragusa
Part II: Crises Arising from Literate Practices
Chapter 8: Finding Husbands, Finding Wives: How Being Literate Creates Crisis, Loukia K. Sarroub
Chapter 9: A State Take-Over: The Language of a School District Crisis, Rebecca Rogers and Kathryn Pole
Chapter 10: Brewing a Crisis: Language, Educational Reform, and the Defense of a Nation, Susan Florio-Ruane
Part III: Reflecting on Crises and Literacy
Chapter 11 Commentators’ Insights, Tracy Sweeney (Early Career Teacher), Jane Fung (Veteran Teacher) and Elizabeth Moje (Teacher Educator)
List of Contributors
Biography
Laurie MacGillivray is Professor of Literacy in the College of Education at the University of Memphis.
"Fresh, provocative, timely and important, this volume extends the field of sociocultural literacies in new directions."--Marjorie Faulstich Orellana, University of California, Los Angeles
