Fall 2008 MidTerm | Newsletter
Upcoming Meetings, Seminars, and Special Events
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 by AUDRA SLOCUM (Teaching & Learning). Panelists include: Maureen Langlois (Environmental Science); Katherine Mollohan (Biology & Science Writing at Antioch); Himel Ghosh (Astronomy); Mike Sovic (Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology). For more information, contact Shawn Casey at
casey.169@osu.edu.
Friday, October 24, 2008 3:30-5:00 p.m. 262 Denney Hall
History of the Book Reading and Discussion Group
Miriam Shenkar (Near East Languages and Culture) will discuss her work on David Ben Gurion. For more information, contact Alan Farmer at
farmer.109@osu.edu.
Thursday, November 4, 2008 4:00-5:30 p.m. ICRPH Knight House 104 E. 15th Ave
LiteracyStudies@OSU Fall Program: The Challenge of "New" Literacies with Sandy Cornett (Allied Medicine) on Health Literacy, Susan Fisher (Biology) on Scientific Literacy, and Kay Bea Jones (Architecture) on Spatial Literacy.
Friday, November 21, 2008 3:30 - 5:00 p.m. Location tba
History of the Book Reading and Discussion Group: Daniel Keller (OSU Newark). For more information, contact Alan Farmer at
farmer.109@osu.edu.
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: Kelly Bradbury (English) will present her dissertation "Job Talk" at this special date and time. For more information, contact Shawn Casey at
casey.169@osu.edu.
April 3 - 5, 2009 Ohio State University
Expanding Literacy Studies, An International, Interdisciplinary Conference for Graduate and Professional Students, sponsored by LiteracyStudies@OSU.
Fall Program: The Challenge of "New" Literacies
The profusion of proclaimed literacies, from science, civic, and spatial literacy to media, information, and health literacy, is challenging, both in terms of the claims—often large ones—and the relationships to literacies rooted in language, and reading and writing across different media and modes of communication. While the "new" literacies represent progress in some dimensions, both the usage and the particularities raise questions. In part, this can be a matter of disciplinary differences. But there are a number of other issues that mandate a larger critical conversation.
Panelists Sandy Cornett, Susan Fisher, and Kay Bea Jones (shown L to R) will discuss the critical issues and opportunities these new literacies represent and introduce the courses they developed to help meet the growing needs and challenges
Sandy Cornett (Allied Medicine),
Health Literacy
Sandy Cornett, R.N. Ph.D. has served as Director of the OSU/AHEC Clear Health Communication Program since 2001. Her responsibilities include providing guidance for development and implementation of the Ohio Health Literacy Initiative to raise awareness about health literacy issues. Cornett's efforts include developing a graduate level course in connection with the Graduate Interdisciplinary Specialization Literacy Studies on Health Literacy; Arts & Science 709 (cross-listed as Med Col 710 and Alli Med 710, Pharmacy 709 and Nursing 710) will be offered for the first time during Spring Quarter 2009.
Susan Fisher (Biological Sciences),
Scientific Literacy
Susan Fisher, Chair, Department of Entomology, is well-known for her innovative teaching methods, research in toxicology and service to the university community. As an example, Fisher's spring quarter Biology 101 course, which she dubbed "The Basics and Beauty of Biology," incorporated a series of special presentations that bridge the arts and sciences: dance students performed "Dancing DNA" to reenact protein synthesis. Fisher also developed a graduate level course in Scientific Literacy; Arts & Sciences 720, one of the core courses for the Graduate Interdisciplinary Specialization in Literacy Studies, is scheduled for Winter 2009.
Kay Bea Jones (Architecture),
Spatial Literacy
Award-winning designer, artist, and public space theorist Kay Bea Jones is our third panelist. Kay Bea Jones is Associate Professor at the Knowlton School of Architecture. She teaches design and urban studies and coordinates studies abroad in Italy. She led students from programs in architecture, landscape architecture, and art on her annual Public Space trip to Rome during late December. Jones is developing a core course for the Graduate Interdisciplinary Specialization in Literacy Studies on
Spatial Literacy.
All three panelists are members of the LiteracyStudies@OSU executive group. "The Challenge of New Literacies" is Tuesday, November 4, 3:30-5:00 at the George Wells Knight House at 104 East 15th Avenue. For more information, contact Susan Hanson at hanson.94@osu.edu.
Literacy Studies: Winter Quarter Course Planning
Winter Quarter marks the start of the second year Graduate Interdisciplinary Specialization in Literacy Studies. The Specialization requires 21-23 hours of coursework in 5 courses. At least 14 hours must come from outside the student's home graduate program. Ohio State's strengths in literacy studies range widely, as the list of winter quarter courses demonstrates.
Winter Course Offerings
Core Course
English 750 Introduction to Graduate Studies in Literacy U G 5
08881-1 T 0530-0818 DE 0262 Farr*M
Marcia Farr (Education: Teaching & Learning and English)
This course introduces graduate students to the field of literacy studies. It emphasizes interdisciplinary research and scholarship that explores definitions of literacy and its uses across historical and cultural contexts. As such, it is relevant for graduate students in the humanities, social sciences, education, public policy, and related fields.
The study and understanding of literacy has changed dramatically in recent decades. Although the term literacy is widespread and often unquestioned as to its importance, literacy in actual use emerges as a much more complicated, mediated, and context-dependent subject than previously appreciated. Writing and reading now are seen as pluralistic cultural practices whose forms, functions, and influences take shape as part of larger social, political, historical, material, and ideological contexts. Literacy studies thus require new, interdisciplinary, comparative, and critical approaches to conceptualization, theories, analysis, and interpretation. This course examines these currents as they take shape, and seeks to understand how a field of study is created among the disciplines of linguistics, anthropology, psychology, and history, among others.
For more information, contact Marcia Farr at
farr.18@osu.edu.
Electives
Anthrop 630 Language and Culture in Education U G 5
Arabic 611 History of the Arabic Language U G 5
Art Educ 755 History, Politics and Practices of Visual Culture in Art Education. G 5
Art Educ 781 Arts Participation, Cultural Literacy, Audience Development G 5
Arts Col 732 Critical History of Computer Graphics U G 3
Chinese 580 The Chinese Language: Description and Analysis U G 5
Comm 657 Technology of Communication U G 5
Comm 870 Media, Campaigns, and Health G 5
Dance 707 Laban Movement Analysis U G 3
Design 786 Design Research and Inquiry U G
Edu PAES 648 Adult Literacy Education U G 3
Edu PAES 652 Health Promotion in the Workplace U G 3
Edu P&L 880 Educational Psychology: Cognition, Learning and Instruction G 4
Edu P&L 905 Research Methodologies in Language, Literacy, and Culture G 3
Edu P&L 921 Guided Survey of Research in Reading G 3
Edu P&L 925 Advanced Seminars
English 750 Introduction to Graduate Studies in Literacy U G 5
English 880 Seminar in Composition G 5
ENGLISH 889 Seminar on Digital Media Studies G 5
Geog 580 Elements of Cartography U G 5
Linguist 615 Psycholinguistics U G 5
Linguist 661.01 Introduction to Sociolinguistics U G 5
Rom Ling 692 The Romance Languages U G 5
Russian 720 History of the Russian Language U G 5
News and Announcements
Expanding Literacy Studies Conference Update
The deadline to submit a proposal for the Expanding Literacy Studies conference was October 15. The program committee, headed by Caitlin Ryan (Education Teaching & Learning) and Kelly Bradbury (English) reported that they received nearly 160 proposals from graduate students at 66 different institutions in 6 countries. The blind review process is now well underway. The conference, which is sponsored by LiteracyStudies@OSU, will take place at The Ohio State University, April 3-5 2009. For more information, visit
http://literacystudies.osu.edu/ and click "conference."
Coming in Spring: Arts&Sci 709 Health Literacy G 3
Examines the issues and challenges of low health literacy, including research; development and testing of information in plain language; health communication techniques; and organizational approaches to meet these challenges. Cross-listed as Med Col 710 and Alli Med 710, Pharmacy 709 and Nursing 710. For more information, contact Sandy Cornett at
Sandy.Cornett@osums.edu
"Rosie's Dream"
Our colleague Mike Rose sent word that an opinion piece that he wrote for the
Pittsburg Post-Gazette was published on Sunday, October 19. In it he compares McCain and Obama's education plans. "My mother's big dream was that I would go to college, and she worked double-shifts to start me on that journey. When I graduated, Rosie Meraglio Rose was there with her camera."
According to Rose, "Education has been pretty much absent from center stage during this year's presidential campaign, but it is a big issue for families having a hard go of it and worrying about their children's future. With my mother [Rosie] in mind, I decided to examine what Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama offer the average family." He concludes, based on the particulars of the candidates' plans, "their underlying spirit and the degree to which they reflect an understanding of real schools and average families, it is Mr. Obama's that offers the most educational opportunities to kids like Rosie's." To read the entire piece, go to
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08293/920829-109.stm
Robert Moses to speak at OSU Mansfield on Monday, November 3
"Dr. Robert P. Moses was a pivotal organizer for the civil rights movement as field secretary for the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and was director of SNCC's Mississippi Project. He was a driving force behind the Mississippi Summer Project of 1964 in organizing the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP), which challenged the Mississippi regulars at the 1964 Democratic Convention. From 1969-1976, he worked for the Ministry of Education in Tanzania, East Africa, where he was chairperson of the math department at the Samé school. Dr. Moses returned to the USA in 1976 to continue to pursue doctoral studies in Philosophy at Harvard. A MacArthur Foundation Fellow from 1982-87, Dr. Moses used his fellowship to develop the concept for the Algebra Project, wherein mathematics literacy in today's information age is as important to educational access and citizenship for inner city and rural poor middle and high school students as the right to vote was to political access and citizenship for sharecroppers and day laborers in Mississippi in the 1960s.
"The Civil Rights Movement: An Insider's Story"
3:00-4:30 p.m. at the Student Union
Bob Moses, a leader in the Mississippi voter registration efforts in the early 1960s and more broadly the civil rights movement, will speak about his experiences in Mississippi and his reflections on the early civil rights movement. There will be plenty of time for questions and answers, and the discussion will be moderated by Kevin Boyle (a National Book award winner and history professor at the Columbus campus). This should be a fascinating talk and a wonderful opportunity to hear about our recent history from someone who helped make it.
"Civil Rights: From Voter Registration to Math Literacy"
7:30-8:30 p.m. at Mansfield Senior High School Auditorium
Bob Moses will speak about how his quest to achieve full civil rights for all Americans moved from the political realm of voter registration and elections to math literacy, about why math literacy is so important, and how the Algebra Project is working to achieve math literacy for those poorly served in our current educational system.
As founder and president of the Algebra Project Inc., Dr. Moses serves as director of the project's materials development program. See more at
www.algebra.org. Together with Algebra Project Inc. board member Danny Glover, Moses and others recently launched a national discussion calling for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution for Quality Public School Education as a Civil Right; see more at
www.qecr.org.
Responding to Literature
Visiting Professor Lawrence Sipe (University of Pennsylvania) will teach EDU T&L 925.56 Responding to Literature: Research and Theory during winter quarter. "The general purpose of this course is to acquaint you with some of the range of possibilities for responding to literature for children and adolescents: the various ways in which readers respond to texts. It is not a methods or a "how to" course, in other words; it takes the view that before we "use" children's literature in the classroom, we must first of all develop, refine, and extend our own literary sensibilities. Thus, although we will be talking about real children and their response to literature, the course is not primarily pedagogical in focus, even though it is hoped (even expected) that it will inform your practice as future instructors in literature/literacy programs."
NCTE Assembly for Research Call for Proposals
The Assembly for Research of the National Council of Teachers of English announces a conference on "Literacy, Culture, Learning, and Life in Schools: Research and Designs for Change", to be held February 13-15, 2009 at The University of California, Los Angeles in Los Angeles, CA. In this call, we would like researchers and educators to consider what it means to explore the connections between literacy theory and research and the study and design of powerful literacy learning spaces for youth.
After a generation of pioneering scholarship in literacy and learning theory and research we are still faced with extreme challenges, some methodological, some pertaining to applications of research to practice and policy. We are also still faced with the reality that class, race, and language background still largely define equity, access, and achievement in literacy classrooms and therefore, the life outcomes of students. With that in mind our goal is to convene literacy and learning scholars, theorists, activists, and practitioners around the globe to discuss the applications of recent movements in literacy and learning theory and research to classroom practice, to understanding classroom life, and to the development of progressive educational policy.
We welcome proposals grounded in diverse perspectives, including, among others: the learning sciences, critical race, postcolonial, postmodern, multicultural, feminist and queer theories; critical discourse analysis; critical and anti-racist pedagogies; and ethnic, cultural, cross-cultural, design, experimental, quasi-experimental, case study, ethnography, historical and comparative/international studies. We invite proposals that focus on empirical research including teacher/action research, as well as conceptual/theoretical work.
Proposals (no more than 2 single-spaced pages) should address the following: The research question(s), methodology, findings/issues/questions for discussion, and how the research will contribute to the conference conversation. If your paper is a conceptual/theoretical one, please describe your theoretical framework and argument and tell how it will contribute to the conference conversation. We are strongly encouraging the participation of classroom teachers and graduate students so, if you are currently a classroom teacher or graduate student, please indicate so in your proposal. Please send all proposals to nctear2009@gmail.com. The deadline for conference submissions is December 1, 2008.
—Co-chairs Kris Gutierrez and Ernest Morrell
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.
