CRITICAL LITERACY CRITICAL LITERACY Related to critical pedagogy

CRITICAL LITERACY

CRITICAL LITERACY • Related to critical pedagogy and social justice work of Paulo Freire (Freire, 1998) • The active and often resistant engagement with texts (broadly defined) (Stevens & Bean, 2007) • A process aimed at exploring (and disrupting) issues Dr. Allan Luke Lecture on Critical Literacy http: //blip. tv/presenting/drallanlukeseg 5 -3020955

CRITICAL LITERACY IS: One of four processes readers need (Luke & Freebody, 1990): • Code breaker • Meaning maker • Text user • Text critic (critical literacy) Critical literacy involves deconstruction of texts “with an eye toward elements of historical, social, and political contexts that permeate and foreground any text” (Stevens & Bean, 2007, p. 9).

Gender Roles Then ( circa 1950’s)

AND NOW…

“HISTORIC RACISM? ?

And Now

DISRUPT & CRITIQUE Critical Literacy seeks to: • Disrupt and critique • Provoke multiple interpretations • Critique essentialist, simplistic views of issues, people, and things • For example, class, gender, and ethnic stereotyping • “People in that neighborhood are like that…. ”

CRITICAL LITERACY HABITS OF MIND In any discourse: • • Who has their views represented? Who is privileged? Who is left out or silenced? What social, political, economic, gender, and ethnicity elements are at play? (Stevens & Bean, 2007)

TEXTS ARE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONS Texts are never neutral Texts can be: • Deconstructed and • Reconstructed through: • Critical questions and discussion

“ZESTY”? ? ? OR SEXIST? “Once you go Italian you never go back. . ” ~ Kraft Italian Dressing Commercial

OR JUST DISTURBING…

CRITICAL CONSUMPTION

ACTION STEPS Start small: incorporate critical literacy questions into lessons using pop culture Bridge to other content material (e. g. textbooks, articles etc. ) Bring Awareness to positioning and impact of images and messages. Deconstruct and reconstruct texts with your students

WHY THIS MATTERS…

YOUR TURN… For our next class – This time we “deconstructed” images of gender roles and race. Next time we will “reconstruct” these images through critical literacy: • Bring in a text that you feel could be used from a critical literacy perspective for the grade level you would like to teach that reconstructs a negative stereotype.

REFERENCES Bean, T. W. , & Harper, H. J. (in press). Exploring notions of freedom in young adult literature. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. Cervetti, G. , Damico, J. S. , & Pardeles, M. J. (2001). A tale of differences: Comparing the traditions, perspectives, and educational goals of critical reading and critical literacy. Reading Online (On-line). Available: http: //www. reading. org Foucault, M. (1977). Power/Knowledge: Selected interviews and other writings. New York: Pantheon. Friedman, T. L. (2005). The world is flat: A brief history of the twenty-first century. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Freire, P. , (1998). Pedagogy of freedom: Ethics, democracy, and civic courage. New York: Rowman & Littlefield. Harper, H. J. , & Bean, T. W. (2006). Fallen angels: Finding adolescents and adolescent literacy (ies) in a project of democratic citizenship. In D. E. Alvermann, K. Hinchman, D. W. Moore, S. Phelps, & D. Waff (Eds. ), Reconceptualizing the literacies in adolescents’ lives (2 nd ed. ), (pp. 147 -160). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

REFERENCES CONT’D Lankshear, C. , & Knobel, M. (2002). Do we have your attention? New literacies, digital technologies, and the education of adolescents. In D. E. Alvermann (Ed. ), Adolescents and literacies in a digital world (pp. 19 -39). New York: Peter Lang. Luke, A. , & Freebody, P. (1999). Further notes on the four resources model. Reading Online (On-line). Available: http: //www. readingonline. org/research/lukefreebody. htm Malloy, R. (2006, April). Itronix Hummer Laptop: The in-your-face status symbol for the ultimate road warrior. Laptop, pp. 146 -147. Martin, T. (1999). Essential Surrealists. London, England: Parragon. Mazda. (2004). ‘ 05 Mazda Miata: Zoom-zoom. Irvine, CA: Mazda North American Operations. Stevens, L. P. , & Bean, T. W. (2007). Critical literacy: Context, research, and practice in the K-12 classroom. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.