Aesthetic literacies in action: Exploring how students design literary knowledge in hybrid interpretive communities

Aleo, Trevor

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/127227 Copy

Description

Title

Aesthetic literacies in action: Exploring how students design literary knowledge in hybrid interpretive communities

Author(s)

Aleo, Trevor

Issue Date

2024-11-27

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Kalantzis, Mary

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Kalantzis, Mary

Committee Member(s)

• Cope, Bill
• Dhillon, Pradeep
• Magee, Liam

Department of Study

Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp

Discipline

Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ed.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• aesthetic literacies
• literary literacies
• multimodal composition
• hybrid interpretive communities
• English language arts
• social semiotics
• multiliteracies

Abstract

This dissertation examines the intersection of literary literacies and multimodal composing practices in a secondary English Language Arts context. Situated within sociocultural learning theory and social semiotic approaches to multimodality, the study investigated how students took up aesthetic literacies when producing interpretive and critical knowledge about literary works through audiovisual essay composing. Data collection for this exploratory single case study included classroom observations, semi-structured interviews with the teacher, student think-aloud protocols, screen recordings of composing processes, and multimodal content analysis of the participants’ audiovisual essays. Findings revealed that fostering hybrid interpretive communities positively influences students’ ability to leverage disciplinary practices from literary studies and multimodal literacies from their lifeworlds to produce sophisticated and diverse forms of literary interpretation. This study contributes to emerging scholarship on aesthetic literacies and offers insights into how researchers and practitioners might bridge disciplinary literacy and multiliteracies approaches in secondary English education. It also highlights the potential of audiovisual essay composition to democratize literary knowledge production and serve as an intellectually and affectively engaging learning experience for students.

Graduation Semester

2024-12

Type of Resource

Thesis

Handle URL

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/127227

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2024 Trevor Aleo

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