Politics and Literacy: Issues of Race, Class and Gender

Catalog description

Designed to explore political, social, historical, and educational perspectives of literacy. Students will read about how historians and theorists have defined the impact of literacy on cultures and individuals. They will read and discuss how literacy has been used as a tool for empowerment and for oppression. An important focus of the class entails examining how a student’s experiences with literacy are often shaped by race, social class, and gender. The collection of readings on literacy also covers broad themes, including technologies and literacy, histories of literacy in the U.S., power, privilege, and discourse, and literacy in the work place.