ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on the powerful literacy practices that emerge from collaborative transformative practices in the public sphere. It explores the usefulness of Positive Discourse Analysis as a theoretical and methodological tool through theoretical and empirical illustrations of the diversity of this approach. The chapter shows transformative collaborative practices inspired by social justice ideologies across the lifespan and the powerful literacies that emerge from such practices; argues for an expanded notion of criticality, one that includes positive social transformation; and renovates Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA's) relationship with critical social theory. It attempts to integrate varied approaches to CDA by drawing on (and contributing to) an expansive, dialectical view of human liberation undergirded by theories of transformation, liberation, and justice.
