Seeing and Hearing Students' Lived and Embodied Critical Literacy Practices

In this article, the authors argue that teachers and researchers must expand current verbo- and logo-centric definitions of critical literacy to recognize how texts and responses are embodied. Ethnographic data illustrate the ways that youth perform critical literacy in ways that educators might not always be prepared to see, hear, or acknowledge. The authors conclude with implications critical performances have for teachers and researchers. Ultimately, they argue that students use their bodies to perform critical literacy--that is, to respond to and convey their critical engagements with myriad texts--in ways that are underrecognized, may defy rationality, or transgress teacher expectations for the politically correct or classroom appropriate (Janks, 2002). (Contains 12 notes.)