Centering Bodies in Contentious Times

Using Critical Literacy to Foster Institutional Change

Abstract

This article draws on critical literacy frameworks and action research methodology to consider how two scholar-practitioners – one working in higher education and one in a middle school setting - utilize their embodied knowledge as members of marginalized communities to increase institutional access and create opportunities for critical engagement and humanization among their students. We situate our research within the literature of critical literacy and we draw on discourses of bodies and embodiment in education to detail the ways in which critical literacy theory and practice might be utilized to unearth missing narratives, promote humanizing educational approaches, and foster institutional change. We end by discussing key implications and offering suggestions for future research and practice in the field.