[xmca] FW: Literacy Research in Communities

Literacy Research in Communities
  
  
The Assembly for Research of the National Council of Teachers of English
announces a conference on Literacy Research in Communities, to be held
February 15-17, 2008 at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN.
In this call, we would like researchers and educators to consider what it
means to do literacy research in and with communities, both communities that
are familiar to the researcher and those that are not. We define communities
broadly (i.e., classrooms, virtual communities, schools, neighborhoods,
community centers etc...). One goal is to begin a conversation about the
various ways that researchers represent and capture the voices of those we
study and the challenges and tensions associated with doing so. Questions
that guide the conference can be broken down into three related strands: 1)
Representation and Relationships; 2) Methodological, Theoretical, and
Epistemological Issues; 3) Ethical Dilemmas and Issues. We invite proposals
that address the following issues, topics and questions that will frame our
Midwinter Conference for 2008.
  
Representation and Relationships

. How do researchers and educators engage in doing literacy
research in communities, especially those which consist of marginalized or
historically underrepresented groups?

. What are the various relationships between researchers
/educators and the community members with whom they study and work?
 What role do these relationships play in the research process?
  

. How do community members participate in creating
           scholarship with researchers?
  

. What role do community members play in the dissemination of
this research and scholarship as it is made public to various audiences?
  

Methodological, Theoretical, and Epistemological Issues

. What methodological and theoretical tools do researchers use to
problematize their own assumptions and to ensure that they justly
represent the communities in which they study?

. What have researchers/educators learned about the knowledge and
experiences of various communities as a result of their literacy
research and how has that knowledge impacted their scholarship, the
communities in which they study, policy, and the field.
  

. How do educational researchers/educators define and understand
their work with diaspora communities, communities in transition,
transnational communities, virtual communities, and undocumented
communities?
  

. How do educational researchers/educators conceptualize "the
literacies of communities"?
  
  
Ethical Dilemmas and Issues

. How do researchers/ educators value and incorporate the voices
and represent the knowledge and experiences of the people in the
communities that we work and study?
  

. To what extent does the scholarship that researchers/educators
create help the communities in which we study? Who is the work done
for? And for what purposes?
  

. What are some of the challenges of doing research in
communities? What ethical dilemmas do researchers and educators face
as they engage in studying the literacy of communities, particularly
communities of historically underrepresented groups?
  

. What ethical responsibilities do researchers and educators have
in representing communities and the literacies within them in their
scholarship and programming?
  
  
We welcome proposals grounded in diverse perspectives, including,
among others: critical race, postcolonial, postmodern, multicultural,
feminist and queer theories; critical discourse analysis; critical and
anti-racist pedagogies; and ethnic, cultural, cross-cultural,
historical and comparative studies. We invite proposals that focus on
empirical research including teacher/action research, as well as
conceptual/theoretical work.
  
  

Proposals (no more than 2 single-spaced pages) should address the
following: The research question(s), methodology,
findings/issues/questions for discussion, and how the research will
contribute to the conference conversation. If your paper is a
conceptual/theoretical one, please describe your theoretical framework
and argument and tell how it will contribute to the conference
conversation. Please indicate in the opening lines of the proposal
whether you intend to focus on empirical or conceptual/theoretical
questions.

Cover Page

Include the following information for all presenters:

Name(s)

Affiliation(s)

Mailing address(es)

Telephone number(s)

E-mail address(es)

Title of presentation

Indicate whether this is a round table or poster session.

Audio-visual requests (overheads, TV/VCRs supplied without charge and
upon request)

Review Process:

Review criteria will include the quality of the proposal and the
degree to which it addresses the conference theme.

Submit proposals via email to: LELLC@indiana.edu Please include
"NCTEAR Proposal" as the subject line. Proposals must be received by
November 2, 2007.
Address any questions to Conference Co-chairs Stephanie Carter or
Gerald Campano to: LELLC@indiana.edu
  
  

sj Miller

Be the change you want to see in the world.
                                                      -Gandhi

Assistant Professor, Secondary English Education
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
110 Leonard Hall
Indiana, PA 15705

office location:
346 Sutton Hall
724-357-3095
www.chss.iup.edu/sjmiller

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Received on Sat Sep 8 04:30 PDT 2007