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Language, Literacy and Culture (LLC)

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The Language, Literacy and Culture (LLC) community brings together faculty and students with interests in the areas of first- and second-language acquisition, English as a Second Language, bilingual and foreign language education, reading, writing, children's literature, and multicultural education. We strive to create a dynamic synergy among these areas in order to better address the needs of all learners in a diverse society.

Historically, language, literacy, and culture have been viewed as separate areas of scholarly study, and this has resulted in inadequate conceptualizations and disjointed approaches to understanding learning. In fact, education in general has suffered from an overreliance on psychological explanations focusing on the individual that fail to take into account the cultural and sociopolitical contexts in which learning actually occurs. Consequently, individual or family characteristics are often cited as the major problems when students fail to learn, with little attention given to broader social and political realities. In the case of students who are perceived as having subordinate social status due to their culture, race, gender, or social class, the dilemma is exacerbated.

Instead of a sole focus on psychological explanations for student learning, the Language, Literacy and Culture doctoral program of study draws upon and contributes to theoretical perspectives which view culture as central to the understanding of language and literacy and which examine language, literacy, and culture as embedded in sociopolitical structures and processes. We derive our perspectives from fields such as anthropology, sociology, and critical studies in a variety of disciplines in order to reconceptualize language, literacy, and cultural practices as social and political action. Consequently, we define language and literacy as the negotiation of participation in communities, the expression and development of social identities, and the reproduction or transformation of ideologies and power relations in schools, communities, and the broader society.

Defining language and literacy in this way provides common ground for connecting native and non-native language education, literacy education, children's literature, and multicultural education. It also provides the foundation that enables us to construct language, literacy, and cultural practices that value diversity, challenge and reject discrimination, and support democratic and equitable participation in schools and communities. Accordingly, the goals for students in our doctoral program of study are to:

• the historic, philosophic, and theoretical foundations of multilingual/multicultural learning and teaching;
• a range of perspectives on cultural and linguistic diversity and its role in education;
• ways educators can support the development of equitable and democratic classrooms and communities;
• ways educators can support language growth in individuals and the development of equitable and democratic language practices in classrooms and communities;

• understanding sociocultural and sociopolitical theoretical perspectives on language and how they are situated in relation to other perspectives;
• sufficient familiarity with one or more sociocultural perspectives on language to support close analysis of oral and/or written texts;
• understanding of a range of perspectives (including sociopolitical perspectives) on
• culture and the relationship of language and culture;

• approaches to qualitative research, with some attention to quantitative approaches;
• the relationship among research questions, theoretical perspectives, and research methodology;
• historical shifts in paradigms;
• comparison and critique of assumptions, questions, goals, methods, findings, power issues;
• ability to understand, critique, and explain to others studies based on various perspectives;

• identifying important research questions based on the literature, one's own experiences, and the experiences of those affected by the problem;
• negotiating access and relationships with participants;
• conducting literature reviews (including use of library and technology);
• planning and implementing data collection and analysis;
• understanding ethical issues involved in research and constructing one's ethical position;
• writing research proposals and final reports;

• knowledge and critical examination of current academic debates across paradigms in a particular literature relevant to the problem(s) the student has chosen and knowledge of how to put forth and defend one's position in these debates;
• ability to contribute to the advancement of knowledge and the academic conversation in one's specialty;
• understanding of one's own professional language practices (writing, presenting, teaching) as social, cultural, and political practices with possibilities for transformative action;
• ability to write and make presentations in (and reinvent) a variety of academic genres, including those appropriate for scholarly publication and conferences;
• ability to critique and challenge existing practices that exclude rather than support learners;
• use of theory to ground and critique one's own teaching, advising, or mentoring;

• participation and contribution to the LLC community and to one's
  professional organizations
• negotiation of sociopolitical contexts in which one provides service;
• understanding of the varied cultures of colleges and universities and expectations for faculty, as well as the cultures of other professional arenas of interest;
• ability to position oneself favorably in the sociopolitical life of one's profession;

• identification of career goals and development of strategic and ethical ways to meet goals;
• creation of spaces for one's intellectual development within the context of other personal and professional responsibilities;
• identification of resources for meeting one's goals in the university and local community, as well as the larger professional community.