Computers and Composition Digital Press2011TextStories that Speak to Us: Exhibits from the Digital Archive of Literacy Narratives

Abstract | Because feminists have relied heavily upon narrative as a methodology for generating knowledge about how and why women rely upon technology in their daily lives, this exhibit theorizes the way in which feminist frameworks provide women faculty and students an opportunity to articulate experiences that might otherwise be marginalized. In order to frame feminism’s significant role in addressing these questions in the field of computers and writing, Kristine Blair first foregrounds the joint dialogue that evolved from her DALN interview with Gail Hawisher to localize larger disciplinary histories. Next, Christine Tulley describes how technology and feminism intersect in an introductory gender studies class, using narrative artifacts on dating, gender roles, and how and where print, musical, and digital literacies intersect. Finally, Christine Denecker explores the spaces where feminism, technology, and culture dwell in order to reflect upon the power of digital literacies to inform and affect an appreciation and understanding for America’s slave past. Ultimately, we rely upon these narratives to stress that a feminist approach to digital literacy and multimodal composing not only establishes reciprocal technological mentoring models and transformative digital pedagogies but also represents our technological experiences and values as women and as teacher-scholars working within and outside the academy.

About the Curators | Kristine Blair is Professor and Chair of the English Department at Bowling Green State University. The author of numerous publications on gender and technology, online learning, electronic portfolios, and the politics of technological literacy acquisition, Blair has served as the editor of the journal Computers and Composition Online since 2003 and has just assumed co-editorship of the print version of Computers and Composition. In 2007 she received the national Technology Innovator Award from the Conference on College Composition and Communication, and in 2010 she received the national Charles Moran Award for Distinguished Contributions to the Field of Computers and Composition. Blair currently directs the Digital Mirror Computer Camp, an outreach initiative for girls in grades 6-8.

Christine Denecker is an Associate Professor of English at The University of Findlay. She has authored several articles on the incorporation of technological pedagogies into language arts instruction and on multimodal composition practices, including “Digital Heuristics: By Chance and By Choice.” Denecker serves on the editorial board of The Journal for Undergraduate Multimedia Projects (The JUMP) and mentors The University of Findlay’s dual enrollment English teachers in their creation, implementation, and assessment of multimodal composition assignments.

Christine Tulley is an Associate Professor of English and Director of Writing in the Department of English at The University of Findlay. Tulley’s work on podcasting has most recently appeared in Journal of Business and Technical Communication, and her studies of multimodal composition within the classroom have appeared in Pedagogy, Computers and Composition, Enculturation, and JAC. Tulley is also co-editor of Webbing Cyberfeminist Practice (2008, Hampton Press).

Technical Requirements | Visitors to this exhibit will need access to a media player for sound clips such as Windows Media Player or iTunes. All videos can be accessed through You Tube links from the essay.

Cite this Exhibit

MLA: Denecker, Christine, Kristine Blair, and Christine Tulley. “The Role of Narrative in Articulating the Relationship Between Feminism and Digital Literacy.” Stories That Speak to Us: Exhibits from the Digital Archive of Literacy Narratives. Ed. H. Lewis Ulman, Scott Lloyd DeWitt, & Cynthia L. Selfe. Logan, UT: Computers and Composition Digital Press, 2013. Web.

APA: Denecker, C., Blair, K., & Tulley, C. (2013). The Role of Narrative in Articulating the Relationship Between Feminism and Digital Literacy. In H. L. Ulman, S. L. DeWitt, & C. L. Selfe (Eds.), Stories that Speak to Us: Exhibits from the Digital Archive of Literacy Narratives. Logan, UT: Computers and Composition Digital Press.