ABSTRACT

Offering a unique, reflexive framework for Critical Discourse Analysis focused on discourses of hope, transformation, and liberation, this book showcases a variety of powerful literacies in action. Drawing from original research in a range of public, educational spaces across the lifespan—from Kindergartners studying social justice movements, to sixth graders designing a social justice museum exhibit focused on the environment and sustainability, to teacher education students practicing racial literacy in response to the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri—Rogers makes the case that critical social theories often associated with Critical Discourse Analysis have not kept pace with a recent shift toward the positive, referred to as Positive Discourse Analysis. Encouraging readers to reconsider their understanding of concepts such as power, action, context, critique, and reflexivity, this book illustrates the potential of theorizing discourse analysis from a positive orientation.

chapter |22 pages

Learning About Workers’ Rights

Critical Literacy in a Kindergarten Classroom

chapter |28 pages

Agitating for Environmental Sustainability

6th Graders Design a Museum Exhibit

chapter |24 pages

Reading, Writing, and Responding to Racism with Ferguson

Racial Literacy in Action

chapter |22 pages

Creating Space for Democracy and Public Contribution to School Governance

An Elected School Board’s Use of CDA

chapter |14 pages

Mobilizing Positively Oriented CDA to Transform Literacy Education

Reflections, Critiques, and New Directions