CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND LITERACY RESEARCH

Guest Editors:  Carolyn Colvin, Associate Professor of Language, Literacy, and Culture, University of Iowa; and Keri Franklin, Professor of English, Missouri State University

In 1990, Ernest Boyer called for a reconsideration of scholarship and invited faculty to re-envision 21st Century universities so that the Academy might become a “more vigorous partner in the search for answers to our most pressing social, civic, economic, and moral problems” and “reaffirm its historic commitment to. . . the scholarship of engagement.”

Literacy scholars embrace community engagement as a way to become involved in critical contemporary conversations. Yet, researchers should not be seduced by romantic, well-intentioned motives of community work and fail to acknowledge who is being served by their research.  We invite submissions for a special issue on the challenges and opportunities of public engagement and literacy research.

For our purposes, we refer to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching definition of community engagement as “the collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities (local, regional/state, national, global) for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity” (Driscoll, 2008, p. 39).

Submission topics may include, but are not limited to:

• Literature reviews framing the intersection between public and literacy scholarship
• Descriptions and assessments of exemplary or innovative projects grounded in public and literacy scholarship
• Higher education roles, training, and connections for engaged literacy scholars
• Collaborations among literacy scholars, universities, funding agencies, and community advocates
• Leveraging resources and the challenge of building and sustaining community partnerships

Features Section: We seek examples of voices from students, teachers, and community members who participate in literacy initiatives. They may be in the form of traditional essays, photographic essays, multimedia, or video productions.

Submission Deadline: Last Chance -EXTENDED to January 8, 2017 (earlier submissions welcomed and appreciated). Follow the format outlined on the eJournal website at:   http://ejopa.missouristate.edu/index.php/ejournal/about/submissions.

NOTE: Submissions can include manuscripts, videos, interviews, photo essays, multimedia, etc.

For more information go to: ejopa.missouristate.edu or  email: eJournalPA@MissouriState.edu