Doing and teaching critical literacies (CL) is complex, unpredictable work. In this article, we explore an unexpected turning point, and "teachable moment", with postgraduate students in a South African university. We focus on a redesign task created to scaffold postgraduate students' developing understanding of critical literacy theory…

This study explores how youth engage with literacy practices in the age of AI through the use of counter-cartographies within the Nayah-Irú curriculum. By critically examining digital platforms and the underlying algorithms, students embarked on a journey to understand and challenge the pervasive influence of artificial intelligence in their…

Literacy has become inextricably bound with machine processes, especially in the age of ubiquitous, consequential artificial intelligence (AI). Despite a relatively long history of AI involvement in our everyday reading and writing practices, the public availability of generative AI tools has set off a wave of heated debate--and concern--about…

In the 21st century, the term "critical" has attached itself to numerous aspects of literacy research. However, what critical means remains commonly anchored to Freire and a primary critical reading practice--suspicious critique. Expanding critical literacy research (CLR), this article advances "reading orientations" as a…

Teachers must first acquire the necessary media literacy skills, strategies, dispositions, and pedagogy to impactfully integrate media literacy into their instruction. Furthermore, previous studies have suggested designing curricular resources as an effective form of media literacy professional learning. This case study examined how high school…

As meaning-making increasingly happens in digital spaces, it is essential for researchers to examine how students learn to critically read and navigate within and across constantly changing online platforms. This qualitative study examines university students' experiences reading and navigating online. To do so, the author examines self-created…

Although prior research has examined critical literacy through qualitative case studies, no known study has been conducted on a cross-case mixed-methods exploration of the practices used to teach critical literacy. Furthermore, in the literature, critical literacy is typically described as a theory rather than a practice. I present the…

The author contributes new insights into everyday literacies in participatory cultures using a multimodal analysis of three LGBTQ+ reaction videos on YouTube. LGBTQ+ reaction videos respond, often comedically, to oppressive media forms and technologies. In the analysis, the author considers how reaction video makers draw on seven meaning-making…

In this theoretical paper, we aim to (re)imagine and (re)conceptualize biliteracy as an anti-colonial endeavor to destabilize colonial projects that continue to permeate how language and literacy are conceptualized in schools. We build on previous scholarship that has theorized Spanish-English biliteracy and extend this scholarship by centering…

In this participatory case study, we explored the critical literacy practices of early-career early childhood teachers in a year-long inquiry group, examining how they collectively read school as text through DisCrit literacies. Bridging literature from Disability Critical Race Theory (DisCrit) and critical literacies scholarship, DisCrit…