Date of Award
May 2013
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department
English
First Advisor
Alice Gillam
Committee Members
Mary Louise Buley-Meissner, Patricia Mayes, Kumkum Sangari, Anna Mansson McGinty
Keywords
Composition, Literacy, Refugees, Sponsorship, Transnationalism
Abstract
"Emissaries of Literacy: Refugee Studies and Transnational Composition" uses qualitative research in refugee communities and textual analysis of stories written by and about refugees to argue that the experiences of resettled refugees, as well as the experiences of the volunteers, aid workers, tutors, and teachers who work with them, do not fit neatly within composition's current paradigms for studying literacy in global contexts. Refugee identity and experience shows a complex link between literacy and citizenship which is complicated by the economic and geographic histories of linguistic imperialism. Refugee perspectives, and more precisely the challenges they pose, can help composition scholars and teachers rethink our established modes of inquiry.
Recommended Citation
MacDonald, Michael T., "Emissaries of Literacy: Refugee Studies and Transnational Composition" (2013). Theses and Dissertations. 133.
https://dc.uwm.edu/etd/133