Liberation Literacies: At the Intersection of Language, Race, and Power

Date: 

Friday, April 16, 2021, 5:00pm


This event is virtual, to register click here.

We are planning a series to bring together academics to talk about the connection between identity development and language. Our goal is to bring in scholars, educators, and students to talk about how important it is for students of minoritized backgrounds--emphasizing Latinx students, to engage with curricula that affirms their linguistic heritage. These scholars and education practitioners will lead us through their research and hopefully inspire us as students to engage with their work and within our praxis. Our goal is that students leave with a strong sense of how identity and language tied, and how institutions can help strengthen and support that journey and connection.

For our first gathering: What if I told you that the way we use language every day has the power to uphold or disrupt social injustice? Privileging white mainstream English in schools not only under-prepares students for our multiethnic, multilingual, globalized society, but it also relies on the logics of coloniality and racism. Drawing on Dr. Jamila Lyiscott's scholar-activism, personal narratives, and her work engaging hip-hop, spoken word, and media in education, this talk will complicate the fallacy that 'standard English is the language of power' and discuss the capacity of Liberation Literacies Pedagogy to utilize language as a site of resistance.

Persons with disabilities who would like to request accommodations or have questions about access may contact the GSAS Student Center in advance of the event.

Presented by Harvard GSAS Latinx Student Association