Youth Voices, Public Spaces, and Civic Engagement

This collection of original research explores ways that educators can create participatory spaces that foster civic engagement, critical thinking, and authentic literacy practices for adolescent youth in urban contexts. Casting youth as vital social actors, contributors shed light on the ways in which urban youth develop a clearer sense of agency within the structural forces of racial segregation and economic development that would otherwise marginalize and silence their voices and begin to see familiar spaces with reimagined possibilities for socially just educational practices.

Stuart Greene is Associate Professor of English, University of Notre Dame, USA. Kevin Burke is Assistant Professor of English Education, University of Georgia, USA. Maria McKenna is Assistant Professor of the Practice, University of Notre Dame, USA.

Introduction. Part I: Understanding Youth Perceptions of Civic Engagement and Resistance 1. Picturing New Notions of Civic Engagement in the U.S.: Youth-Facilitated, Visually-Based Explorations of the Perspectives of Our Least Franchised and Most Diverse Citizens Anthony Pellegrino, Kristien Zenkov, Melissa Gallagher, Liz Long 2. Speaking through Digital Storytelling: A Case Study of Agency and the Politics of Identity Formation in School Rebecca L. Buecher 3. "Truth, in the end, is different from what we have been taught": Re-centering Indigenous Knowledges in Public Schooling Spaces Timothy San Pedro 4. Publicly Engaged Scholarship in Urban Communities: Possibilities for Literacy Teaching and Learning Valerie KinlochPart II: Creating Safe, Creative Spaces for Youth through Community Partnerships 5. "We want this to be owned by you": The Promise and Perils of Youth Participatory Action Research Lawrence T. Winn, Maisha T. Winn 6. Writing Our Lives: The Power of Youth Literacies and Community Engagement Marcelle M. Haddix,Alvina Mardhani-Bayne 7. "It help[ed] me think outside the box": Connecting Critical Pedagogy and Traditional Literacy in a Youth Mentoring Program Horace Hall, Beverly Trezek 8. Where Are They Now? An Intergenerational Conversation on the work of the Llano Grande Center for Research and Development Miguel Guajardo, Francisco Guajardo, Mark CantuPart III: Literacies as a Civil and Human Right 9. Black "Youth Speak Truth" to Power: Literacy for Freedom, Community Radio, and Civic Engagement Keisha Green 10. Bilingual Youth Voices in Middle School: Performance, Storytelling and Photography Ruth Harman, Lindy Johnson, Edgar Escutia Chagoya 11. When Words Fail, Art Speaks: Learning to Listen to Youth Stories in a Community Photovoice Project Stuart Greene, Kevin Burke, Maria McKenna