Teaching the Revolution: Critical Literacy in the Developmental Reading Classroom (original) (raw)

The definition of literacy has evolved beyond traditional notions of literacy as the ability to read and write. Recent theorists suggest that literacy is situated in the historical, sociopolitical and cultural context and functions as a lens through which one comes to understand the world, one’s place in the world and how one can alter the world. The contextualized, creative and transformative nature of literacy calls for revised postsecondary reading education curricula and pedagogy. This paper examines current definitions of literacy and their implications for college reading instruction. This paper also explores critical literacy and its practical applications in college reading.