Fall 2008 | Newsletter
Volume 5:2
Upcoming Talks, Seminars, and Special Events
FALL 2009
Friday, September 26, 2008 11:30-1:00 p.m. ICRPH Knight House 104 E. 15th Av
Graduate Student Interdisciplinary Seminar on Literacy Studies:
2008-2009 GradSem Kick Off; organized and moderated by SHAWN CASEY (English)
Thursday, October 2, 2008 4:00-5:30 p.m. 311 Denney 164 W. 17th Av
MICHAEL WILSON (University of Texas at Dallas): "'Quelle Horreur!' Sex between Men in Belle
Époque France." Co-sponsored by LiteracyStudies@OSU
Thursday, October 16, 2008 4:00-5:30 p.m. ICRPH Knight House 104 E. 15th Av
LiteracyStudies@OSU Autumn Lecture: JERRY ZASLOVE (Institute for the Humanities, Simon Fraser University): "What Can Walter Benjamin's "Work of Art in the Age of Technical Reproducibility" Teach Us about Literacy as a Labyrinthine and Protean Concept?"
Friday, October 24, 2008 11:30-1:00 p.m. ICRPH Knight House 104 E. 15th Av
Graduate Student Interdisciplinary Seminar on Literacy Studies:
Making, Communicating, and Understanding Meaning in the Sciences; organized and moderated AUDRA SLOCUM (Teaching & Learning)
Tuesday, November 4, 2008 4:00-5:30 p.m. ICRPH Knight House 104 E. 15th Av
LiteracyStudies@OSU AUTUMN PROGRAM: NEW LITERACY STUDIES @ OSU: SANDY CORNETT (Health Sciences), "Health Literacies; SUSAN FISHER (Biological Sciences), "Scientific Literacies"; CAROL GILL (Design), "Visual Literacies"; and KAY BEA JONES (Architecture), "Spatial Literacies"
Thursday, December 4, 2008 4:00-5:30 p.m. ICRPH Knight House 104 E. 15th Av
Graduate Student Interdisciplinary Seminar on Literacy Studies:
New Voices in Literacy Studies, organized by Shawn Casey (English)
WINTER 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009 4:00-5:30 p.m. ICRPH Knight House 104 E. 15th Av
The Ohio State University Lecture on Literacy Studies: Lesley Bartlett (Teachers College, Columbia University), "The Word and the World: The Cultural Politics of Literacy in Brazil"
SPRING 2009
April 3 – 5, 2009
Expanding Literacy Studies, an International, Interdisciplinary Conference for Graduate and Professional Students, sponsored by LiteracyStudies@OSU; plenary sessions will feature Harvey J. Graff, Shirley Brice Heath, and Liz Sanders
Thursday, May 14, 2009 4:00-5:30 p.m. 311 Denney 164 W. 17th Av
LiteracyStudies@OSU SPRING LECTURE: IRA SHOR (City University of New York): "Can Critical Literacy Change the World?"
LiteracyStudies@OSU: Critical Time for Critical Literacy/ies
Autumn 2008 marks the beginning of LiteracyStudies@OSU's fifth year. We've traveled an incredible distance—locally, nationally, even internationally—since a small band of interested and active participants from different parts of OSU first gathered in Knight House in September and October 2004.
2008-2009 promises to be an exciting year. It is distinguished by attention to critical literacy(ies) and close examination of literacy studies itself. The coming year is marked by the new and the old—and the continuing maturation of activities that we have been nurturing for several years, including our series of public programs and visiting speakers, the monthly Graduate Students Interdisciplinary Seminar, the History of the Book reading group, and the Graduate Interdisciplinary Specialization in Literacy Studies, among other activities.
The critical examination of literacy studies is the theme of
Expanding Literacy Studies, an interdisciplinary and international conference for graduate students. Students from Ohio State and nine other major universities are organizing the conference. It takes place at OSU April 3-5, 2009, and expects the participation of at least 200 graduate students. As its announcement explains,
"The theme—Expanding Literacy Studies—draws from the larger conversation on literacy and literacy studies, the many myths of literacy, and the growing number of new and emergent literacies.
"The conference aims to extend the dialogue, explore the landscape, and map the intersections of literacy studies as a framework for our continued critical investigation of literacy. This approach is meant to expand the field and critique the expansion" of Literacy Studies. Plenary sessions feature Shirley Brice Heath, Liz Sanders, and Harvey J. Graff.
Overlapping in part with the conference, different concepts of and approaches to critical literacy mark the presentations of our three visiting speakers: Jerry Zaslove, Lesley Bartlett, and Ira Shor.
On Thursday, Oct. 16, 2008,
Jerry Zaslove, Professor Emeritus, Simon Fraser University asks "What Can Walter Benjamin's 'Work of Art in the Age of Technical Reproducibility' teach us about Literacy as a Labyrinthine and Protean Concept?" He continues: "One might view Benjamin's work through his metaphor of the labyrinth - an emerging literacy of performance where the loss of the object through mechanical reproduction creates a different road to understanding how language is a sphere of 'human agreement that is non-violent' and 'wholly inaccessible to violence'"
On Thursday, January 29, 2009,
Lesley Bartlett, Teachers College, Columbia University, presents the second annual Ohio State University Lecture on Literacy Studies. From the perspective of what she calls the New Critical Literacy Studies, Bartlett will address "The Word and the World: The Cultural Politics of Literacy in Brazil." This is also the theme of her forthcoming book.
On Thursday, May 14, 2009,
Ira Shor, City University of New York, addresses the question "Can Critical Literacy Change the World?" Shor proposes to examine differences between critical literacy and other notions of literacy, and to consider how critical literacy in a problem-posing curriculum questions the status quo and power relations.
In addition, LiteracyStudies@OSU is one co-sponsor of the October 2, 2008 Sexuality Studies lecture by
Michael Wilson, University of Texas at Dallas, "'Quelle Horreur!' Sex between Men in Belle Époque France." Charting popular understandings of male same-sex sexuality in France between 1870 and 1914, he attempts to reconstruct and analyze how representations of sexuality between men were articulated, shaped, and circulated in French print culture.
As the Graduate Interdisciplinary Specialization in Literacy Studies begins its second year, we are completing a review and partial revision of the curriculum; more on this in upcoming newsletters.
Other public programs will consider new literacies and new literacy studies courses and performance literacy.
There is more on these and other programs elsewhere in this newsletter and in the LiteracyStudies@OSU and Expanding Literacy Studies websites.
Please join us.
HARVEY J. GRAFF
September 2008
Autumn Lecture: Literacy as a Labyrinthine and Protean Concept
JERRY ZASLOVE, Simon Fraser University
What Can Walter Benjamin's "Work of Art in the Age of Technical Reproducibility" Teach Us about Literacy as a Labyrinthine and Protean Concept?
According to Zaslove, Benjamin views language as duplicitous: a medium of instrumentality or force that invades the integrity of the person through writing, reading and language as such. Benjamin's essay, "Critique of Violence," while not on literacy as such, basically argues that religion was about sacred violence; that is, making violence sacred in order to release religion from myth. This gets him to the myth of law-preserving violence, and then the state as a continuation of law preserving violence.
For this talk, Zaslove will view Walter Benjamin's work through his metaphor of the labyrinth—an emerging literacy of performance where the loss of the object through mechanical reproduction creates a different road to understanding how language is a sphere of "human agreement that is non-violent" and "wholly inaccessible to violence".
JERRY ZASLOVE is a founding faculty member of Simon Fraser University. He has taught European literature, humanities, and the social history of art at Simon Fraser University since it opened in 1965, and was active in the literacy "revolution" and counterrevolution He was Chair of the English Department and the founding Director of the Institute for the Humanities, and involved in developing the Humanities Department and Prague Field School. Zaslove is the co-editor of West Coast Line, a Canada journal of arts, letters, and cultural criticism. He teaches and publishes happily on utopian controversies, the city in history, photography, cultural memory, art movements in relation to revolution, and cross-cultural understanding, or understanding what is outside of us.
His most recent published writing includes essays on the German-speaking exiles, Siegfried Kracauer, the Images of Community, W.G. Sebald and exile, Kafka's Josephine the Mouse Singer, Herbert Read and T. Walter Benjamin, memory and photography in Jeff Wall's photographs and, in a volume of essays with the University of Toronto Press, an essay on the lost utopia of a radical pedagogy.
Expanding Literacy Studies: Conference Update
The graduate student organizers of Expanding Literacy Studies, an international, interdisciplinary conference for graduate students, continue the planning at full tilt. The Call for Proposals, launched in April, has generated interest from around the globe. Many proposals have already been submitted and the program committee looks forward to perhaps hundreds more before the October 15 deadline.
The Call for Proposals is unique in its emphasis on interdisciplinary, collaborative, and interactive presentation formats. Each "Way to Participate" is designed to promote conversations about literacy that transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries. For example, one can propose to share the questions he or she has been wrestling with during an informal Roundtable Conversation. Those with more developed projects may choose to showcase their work through a Creative Performance or Work of Art, speaking as part of a Panel Presentation or Panel Discussant, or by participating in a Dissertation Workshop. What's more, it is okay to participate in more than one way.
WAYS TO PARTICIPATE:
Facilitate a Roundtable Conversation
Roundtable facilitators will engage a small group of participants in a 60-minute interdisciplinary conversation about a particular topic or issue.
Lead an Interactive Workshop
Workshops may be led by an individual or a group of individuals. They should be interactive and 90 minutes in length. The final 20 minutes of the workshop should be reserved for questions from the audience.
Present a Creative Performance or Work of Art
Creative presentations may include original dance performances, art exhibits, films, music, and readings, and should begin or end with a reflective statement that communicates the concept and context of the performance. Presentations may be individual or collaborative and should be designed to last no more than 70 minutes so the remaining 20 minutes can be reserved for questions. Shorter presentations may be grouped with other creative presentations to fill a 90-minute session.
Present on a Panel
Panels will include three 20-minute presentations followed by an assigned discussant's commentary connecting the presentations. For those more familiar with giving poster presentations, you may discuss your poster during the 20-minute block in lieu of presenting a paper. Proposals can be for one individual presentation to be placed on a panel by conference planners or for a complete panel of three individual presentations.
Serve as a Discussant on a Panel of Presentations
Panel discussants will read panelists' papers prior to the conference, prepare a 10-minute commentary highlighting trends and themes among the papers, introduce panelists at the conference, and facilitate the question and answer session.
Share and Discuss Your Research in a Dissertation Workshop
Ph.D. candidates may submit part of their dissertation in progress (i.e. a dissertation proposal, excerpt, or chapter) to be read and work-shopped by other Ph.D. candidates across disciplines. Participants will also read and comment on others' work in preparation for the workshop.
Proposals should be submitted through the conference web site. Go to
www.literacystudies.osu.edu/conference and click "Submit a Proposal."
The conference Steering Committee is finalizing the details for three special events:
KEYNOTE: Responses to The Literacy Myth: 30 Years Later
In honor of the 30th Anniversary of the publication of
The Literacy Myth: Literacy and Social Structure in the Nineteenth Century, author Harvey J. Graff will respond to a panel of graduate students from various disciplines whose presentations will focus on "the literacy myth." Harvey J. Graff is Ohio Eminent Scholar in Literacy Studies and Professor of English and History at The Ohio State University.
PATRICK BERRY (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
MARIA BIBBS (University of Wisconsin - Madison),
DAVID OLAFFSON (Scotland's University of St Andrews)
PLENARY: Ways with the Work of Shirley Brice Heath
At the heart of Heath's work are the organizational structures and cultural values and behaviors that surround the learning and use of language. Shirley Brice Heath will respond to a panel of graduate students whose own work builds Health's contributions to the literacy studies.
HEATHER LOYD (University of California, Los Angeles)
ENID ROSARIO RAMOS (Northwestern University)
DARIN STOCKDILL (University of Michigan)
INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP with participatory design pioneer Liz Sanders
LIZ SANDERS is a pioneer in the use of participatory research methods for the design of products, systems, services, and spaces. She will lead conference participants in an interactive workshop about the future of literacy, as a reflection of and closure for the conference.
The website,
www.literacystudies.osu.edu/conference has additional information for those interested in further details about the conference and for those who are planning the trip to Columbus in April. Questions about any part of the conference can be directed to
expandingls@osu.edu.
—Caitlin Ryan (Teaching & Learning)
Steering Committee Co-Chair
Expanding Literacy Studies
Literacy Studies GradSem: Expanding Interdisciplinarity
The Graduate Interdisciplinary Seminar in Literacy Studies, or GradSem, has come to play an important role in the interdisciplinary experiences of graduate students across the Ohio State campus. The GradSem seeks to create a space for dialogue among graduate students with diverse perspectives and research interests. The group meets monthly, typically the final Friday, for lunch and a student-organized program or presentation and discussion.
Friday, September 26, 2008 11:30-1:00 p.m. ICRPH Knight House 104 E. 15th Av
GradSem Kick Off: Opportunities for the Year Ahead
Join new and returning students to learn how the Literacy Studies Graduate Seminar helps you explore opportunities for professional development, interdisciplinary networking, academic inquiry, and socializing with your peers. This informal session will feature testimonials from current participants, an overview of the GradSem, and a discussion of how to propose a session for the upcoming graduate student conference in literacy studies. RSVP to Shawn Casey at
casey.169@osu.edu.
Friday, October 24, 2008 11:30-1:00 p.m. ICRPH Knight House 104 E. 15th Av
Making, Communicating, and Understanding Meaning in the Sciences
From health literacy to science education to teaching and research in the physical, biological, and medical sciences, literacy plays a central role in the production and distribution of scientific knowledge. Graduate Students in the sciences interested in discussing the many issues impacting science and literacy today should contact moderator Audra Slocum at
slocum.81@osu.edu.
Thursday, December 4, 2008 4:00-5:30 p.m. ICRPH Knight House 104 E. 15th Av
New Voices in Literacy Studies: Kelly Bradbury
Each quarter the graduate seminar provides space for new voices in literacy studies to deepen and share research and coursework with the group. This session will feature students working through conference presentations, sharing course work and teaching questions, and critically exploring how literacy is framed in a variety of disciplines. If you'd like to get involved, either as a presenter or moderator, contact Shawn Casey at
casey.169@osu.edu.
GradSem participants are invited to organize presentations, propose panels and round tables, and facilitate reading and discussion of works by LiteracyStudies@OSU guest speakers.
To get involved, propose a seminar topic, or for more information, contact seminar co-chairs
Shawn Casey (English) or
Audra Slocum (Teaching & Learning).
We look forward to hearing from you!
—Shawn Casey and Audra Slocum
News and Announcements
SEXUALITY STUDIES presents MICHAEL L. WILSON, University of Texas at Dallas
Quelle Horreur!' Sex between Men in Belle Époque France."
Lunel, "Au Musee."
Le Courrier francais 28 April 1889
Michael Wilson's work-in-progress,
The Freemasonry of Pederasts, looks at how representations of sexuality between men were articulated, shaped, and circulated in French print culture, c. 1870 – 1914. Wilson moves beyond elite and official discourses to more ephemeral cultural productions. He draws on a substantial archive of guidebooks, popular sociology, police and prison memoirs, popular and naturalist fiction, newspaper
faits divers and coverage of scandals, medical guides for laypeople, and caricature and illustration.
Thursday, October 2, 2008 4:00-5:30 p.m. 311 Denney 164 W. 17th Avenue
Michael Wilson's lecture is co-sponsored by LiteracyStudies@OSU. For more information and the recommend reading, contact Debra Moddelmog at
moddelmog.1@osu.edu.
HISTORY OF THE BOOK group will meet three times during fall
As you see, the Michael Wilson talk deals with fin-de-siecle French print, which is relevant to the History of the Book work too and so is on the schedule, along with one presentation by our own Miriam Shenkar and one open slot.
Thursday, October 2, 4:00-5:30 pm, Denney 311
We will join in with the Michael Wilson event.
Friday, October 24, 3:30-5:00 pm, location TBA
Miriam Shenkar will be presenting some her current research. She will be focusing either 1) on the disciplinary focus of the newly appointed chairs of Israel studies or 2) on David Ben-Gurion and his engagement with the intellectual community throughout his political career. She'll let us know which in the next couple of weeks.
Friday, November 14th, 3:30-5:00 pm, on a topic TBA
Do you have current research that you would like to present to the group? Or, is there an essay, group of essays, or selections from a book that you would like to have the group read and discuss? This slot is completely open, so write to me and let me know what you would like to do. (This date is flexible too, if the 14th isn't a good day for people.)
For more information about the History of the Book reading and discussion group, contact Alan Farmer at
farmer.109@osu.edu.
PROPOSAL DEADLINE
The proposal deadline for Expanding Literacy Studies is October 15, 2008. There are lots of ways to participate in this first-ever international, interdisciplinary conference for graduate students. For more information, visit the
conference website.
Locating LiteracyStudies@OSU
George Wells Knight House
104 E. 15th Ave
Columbus, OH 43201
PH: (614) 247-6539
FAX: (614) 247-6336
literacystudies@osu.edu
LiteracyStudies@OSU: An Initiative
LiteracyStudies@OSU is fostering a critical, cross-campus conversation and investigation into the nature of literacy, bringing historical, contextual, comparative, and critical perspectives and modes of understanding together to stimulate new institutional and intellectual relationships. We are building a sense of collaboration among different disciplinary clusters and their constituents, from the social and natural sciences to the arts and humanities, education, medicine, and law.
EXECUTIVE GROUP
Harvey J. Graff, English; History graff.40@osu.edu
Steve Acker, OhioLink; The Learning Center acker.1@osu.edu
Mollie Blackburn, Education blackburn.99@osu.edu
Ginny Bumgardner, Medicine Ginny.Bumgardner@osumc.edu
Sandy Cornett, Health Sciences cornett.3@osu.edu
Marcia Farr, Education; English farr.18@osu.edu
Anne Fields, University Libraries fields.179@osu.edu
Henry Fields, Dentistry fields.31@osu.edu
Susan Fisher, Biology fisher.14@osu.edu
Carolina Gill, Industrial, Interior, & Visual Comm. Design gill.175@osu.edu
Terry Gustafson, Chemistry gustafson@chemistry.ohio-state.edu
Kay Halasek, English halasek.1@osu.edu
Kay Bea Jones, Architecture jones.76@osu.edu
Alan Kalish, Teaching & Learning Center kalish.3@osu.edu
Jeffrey K. McKee, Anthropology mckee.95@osu.edu
Beverly Moss, English moss.1@osu.edu
Leslie Moore, Education moore.1817@osu.edu
Doug Post, Medicine doug.post@osumc.edu
Marcy Raymond, Principal, Metro High School raymond@themetroschool.com
Cindy Selfe, English; selfe.2@osu.edu
Peter Shane, Law; shane.29@osu.edu
Amy Shuman, English; Folklore shuman.1@osu.edu
David Staley, History; Goldberg Center staley.3@osu.edu
Kevin Tavin, Art Education tavin.1@osu.edu
Andy Thomas, Medicine; Andrew.Thomas@osumc.edu
Lewis Ulman, Humanities; English ulman.1@osu.edu
Mindy Wright, Director, Community Partnerships in ASC; wright.7@osu.edu
Shawn Casey, Doctoral Student, English; casey.169@osu.edu
Karin Hooks, Doctoral Student, English; hooks.28@osu.edu
Susan Hanson, Assistant Program Director, Literacy Studies hanson.94@osu.edu
Edward Adelson, Music; adelson.3@osu.edu
Randy Smith, Vice Provost; smith.70@osu.edu
Chris Zacher, Director, ICRPH; zacher.1@osu.edu
Literacy Studies is supported by the College of Humanities,
Department of English, Institute for Collaborative Research and Public Humanities, and the
Arts and Sciences Colleges at The Ohio State University.
LiteracyStudies@OSU is supported by the College of Humanities,
Department of English, Institute for Collaborative Research and Public Humanities (ICRPH), and the Arts and Science Colleges at The Ohio State University.
