The Roma (commonly known as "Gypsies") have largely been depicted in writings and in popular culture as an illiterate group. However, as Romani Writing shows, the Roma have a deep understanding of literacy and its implications, and use writing for a range of different purposes. While some Romani writers adopt an "oral" use of the written medium, which aims at opposing and deconstructing anti-Gypsy stereotypes, other Romani authors use writing for purposes of identity-building. Writing is for Romani activists and intellectuals a key factor in establishing a shared identity and introducing a common language that transcends linguistic and geographical boundaries between different Romani groups. Romani authors, acting in-between different cultures and communication systems, regard writing as an act of cultural mediation through which they are able to rewrite Gypsy images and negotiate their identity while retaining their ethnic specificity. Indeed, Romani Writing demonstrates how Romani authors have started to create self-images in which the Roma are no longer portrayed as "objects", but become "subjects" of written representation.

Writing is not just about conveying 'content' but also about the representation of self. (One of the reasons people find writing difficult is that they do not feel comfortable with the 'me' they are portraying in their writing. Academic writing in particular often poses a conflict of identity for students in higher education, because the 'self' which is inscribed in academic discourse feels alien to them.)The main claim of this book is that writing is an act of identity in which people align themselves with socio-culturally shaped subject positions, and thereby play their part in reproducing or challenging dominant practices and discourses, and the values, beliefs and interests which they embody. The first part of the book reviews recent understandings of social identity, of the discoursal construction of identity, of literacy and identity, and of issues of identity in research on academic writing. The main part of the book is based on a collaborative research project about writing and identity with mature-age students, providing: - a case study of one writer's dilemmas over the presentation of self;- a discussion of the way in which writers' life histories shape their presentation of self in writing;- an interview-based study of issues of ownership, and of accommodation and resistance to conventions for the presentation of self;- linguistic analysis of the ways in which multiple, often contradictory, interests, values, beliefs and practices are inscribed in discourse conventions, which set up a range of possibilities for self-hood for writers.The book ends with implications of the study for research on writing and identity, and for the learning and teaching of academic writing.The book will be of interest to students and researchers in the fields of social identity, literacy, discourse analysis, rhetoric and composition studies, and to all those concerned to understand what is involved in academic writing in order to provide wider access to higher education.

Table of contents

Modern humanities scholarship presents a scene of intriguing change. A leading figure like Professor Eagleton moves suddenly from theory to a fascination with culture, while still wrestling with literature’s meaning and function. Creative non-fiction becomes fashionable while life writings retain a very wide readership. Language professionals, meanwhile, ask themselves if teaching an alien tongue can be done without teaching its associated culture, and what this might mean for individual and group identity – itself now an area of rising academic concern. Crucially, the present volume looks at how these currents and concerns coalesce. It shows how literature, operating through language (oral and written) both shapes and reveals the identities of individuals and societies. With a truly global reach, it draws evidence from diverse contexts and environments. The struggles of women in North America, female portrayal in Middle Eastern proverbs, the response to identity challenge in West, East and Southern Africa (including the extraordinary complexity of black South African experience), and the literary assertions of New Zealand’s Maoris – they are all here in this multi-faceted contribution to modern cultural, linguistic and literary scholarship.

Independent reading is the right of every student. It is an indispensable foundation for solid reading instruction yet, is too often viewed as a luxury. Overly prescriptive, culturally irrelevant curriculum does not provide spaces for students to develop a sense of agency as readers or for teachers to make decisions that reflect the needs of the students in front of them. When teachers trust themselves and trust their students to create reading experiences that matter, they positively impact student growth. Trusting Readersputs the independence back into independent reading-and bolsters that independence with collaboration. Jen and Hannah offer a clear definition of independent reading. Their vision of conferring supports teachers as they support young readers. They help teachers craft reading experiences for students that are centered around their engagement, instructional needs, and identities as readers. Trusting Readersis an essential and accessible guide that provides teachers with the inspiration, information, and tools needed to grow enthusiastic independent readers. Jen and Hannah outline practical steps for teachers to implement independent reading time or to enrich their current practice with multiple entry points whether you've been teaching one year or twenty. In addition, they provide a model for reading conferences that support tailored instructional choices and keep students at the center. In Part 1 of Trusting Readers, Jen and Hannah define independent reading as based on the principles of time, choice, talk, and teacher support. Each chapter keeps student independence and reading identity development at the forefront, while leading teachers through the process of setting up classroom routines that safeguard time and space for independent reading in any environment. Part 2 focuses on conferring during independent reading using The Cycle of Conferring, a framework that teachers can use to help students set meaningful reading goals that not only build their skills, but also support their growth into joyful, purposeful, engaged readers. Dig into Trusting Readersand consider new possibilities for vibrant independent reading to thrive in your classroom in visible and invisible ways. What is the best that could happen when you trust yourself, your students, and the power of independent reading?

Jim Cummins is Professor and Canada Research Chair in the Curriculum, Teaching and Learning department at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.

How do definitions of literacy in the academy, and the pedagogies that reinforce such definitions, influence and shape our identities as teachers, scholars, and students? The contributors gathered here reflect on those moments when the dominant cultural and institutional definitions of our identities conflict with our other identities, shaped by class, race, gender, sexual orientation, location, or other cultural factors. These writers explore the struggle, identify the sources of conflict, and discuss how they respond personally to such tensions in their scholarship, teaching, and administration. They also illustrate how writing helps them and their students compose alternative identities that may allow the connection of professional identities with internal desires and senses of self. They emphasize how identity comes into play in education and literacy and how institutional and cultural power is reinforced in the pedagogies and values of the writing classroom and writing profession.

Bringing together theory, research, and practice to dismantle Anti-Black Linguistic Racism and white linguistic supremacy, this book provides ethnographic snapshots of how Black students navigate and negotiate their linguistic and racial identities across multiple contexts. By highlighting the counterstories of Black students, Baker-Bell demonstrates how traditional approaches to language education do not account for the emotional harm, internalized linguistic racism, or consequences these approaches have on Black students' sense of self and identity. This book presents Anti-Black Linguistic Racism as a framework that explicitly names and richly captures the linguistic violence, persecution, dehumanization, and marginalization Black Language-speakers endure when using their language in schools and in everyday life. To move toward Black linguistic liberation, Baker-Bell introduces a new way forward through Antiracist Black Language Pedagogy, a pedagogical approach that intentionally and unapologetically centers the linguistic, cultural, racial, intellectual, and self-confidence needs of Black students. This volume captures what Antiracist Black Language Pedagogy looks like in classrooms while simultaneously illustrating how theory, research, and practice can operate in tandem in pursuit of linguistic and racial justice. A crucial resource for educators, researchers, professors, and graduate students in language and literacy education, writing studies, sociology of education, sociolinguistics, and critical pedagogy, this book features a range of multimodal examples and practices through instructional maps, charts, artwork, and stories that reflect the urgent need for antiracist language pedagogies in our current social and political climate.

This landmark volume articulates and develops the argument that new directions in sociocultural theory are needed in order to address important issues of identity, agency, and power that are central to understanding literacy research and literacy learning as social and cultural practices. With an overarching focus on the research process as it relates to sociocultural research, the book is organized around two themes: conceptual frameworks and knowledge sources. *Part I, “Rethinking Conceptual Frameworks,” offers new theoretical lenses for reconsidering key concepts traditionally associated with sociocultural theory, such as activity, history, community, and the ways they are conceptualized and under-conceptualized within sociocultural theory. *Part II, “Rethinking Knowledge and Representation,” considers the tensions and possibilities related to how research knowledge is produced, represented, and disseminated or shared—challenging the locus of authority in research relationships, asking who is authorized to be a legitimate knowledge source, for what purposes, and for which audiences or stakeholders. Employing the lens of “critical sociocultural research,” this book focuses on the central role of language and identity in learning and literacy practices. It is intended for scholars, researchers, and graduate students in literacy education, social and cultural psychology, social foundations of education, educational anthropology, curriculum theory, and qualitative research in education.

The author examines the "cultural and literary identity among Western Christians which the centrality of 'the Book' has helped to create, and the Christian use of the phrase 'People of the book.'"--Preface.