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Chapter 10. Embodied reflexivity and researching the literacy practices of an adolescent multilingual refugee who is d/Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing

  • Liv T. Dávila
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Innovative Qualitative Methodologies in Multilingual Literacy Development Research
This chapter is in the book Innovative Qualitative Methodologies in Multilingual Literacy Development Research

Abstract

In this chapter I extend recent scholarship on researcher subjectivities in Applied Linguistics by considering affective, spatial, and corporeal dimensions of reflexivity and positionality. I draw from ethnographic research on the multisemiotic language and literacy practices of Madou (a pseudonym), an adolescent refugee student from the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) who was diagnosed as having a severe hearing impairment upon his arrival to the United States as a middle schooler. I conclude by presenting implications for how considering positionality as embodied can yield novel analyses and foster relational ethics in research on the literacy development of multilingual learners from immigrant, transnational, and refugee backgrounds, including those who are d/Deaf and hard of hearing (DML).

Abstract

In this chapter I extend recent scholarship on researcher subjectivities in Applied Linguistics by considering affective, spatial, and corporeal dimensions of reflexivity and positionality. I draw from ethnographic research on the multisemiotic language and literacy practices of Madou (a pseudonym), an adolescent refugee student from the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) who was diagnosed as having a severe hearing impairment upon his arrival to the United States as a middle schooler. I conclude by presenting implications for how considering positionality as embodied can yield novel analyses and foster relational ethics in research on the literacy development of multilingual learners from immigrant, transnational, and refugee backgrounds, including those who are d/Deaf and hard of hearing (DML).

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. List of contributors vii
  4. Chapter 1. Introduction: Innovative paths in researching multilingual literacy development 1
  5. Part 1. Challenges and affordances of qualitative methodological approaches
  6. Chapter 2. Rethinking qualitative meta-syntheses in literacy studies 24
  7. Chapter 3. An ethnetnography of (non)belonging 45
  8. Chapter 4. Communicating selves 67
  9. Chapter 5. Commentary: The instability of ‘data’ in a postdigital era 92
  10. Part 2. Challenges and affordances of qualitative methodological approaches
  11. Chapter 6. Korean American children’s voices in translanguaging Play-Based Family Literacy (PBFL) through the  suda  ( 수다 ) approach 102
  12. Chapter 7. Bridging language and STEM 125
  13. Chapter 8. Families’ literacies of (in)visibilty 149
  14. Chapter 9. Commentary: Advancing theory through multilingual literacy qualitative research 171
  15. Part 3. Interrogating research practices
  16. Chapter 10. Embodied reflexivity and researching the literacy practices of an adolescent multilingual refugee who is d/Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing 184
  17. Chapter 11. Exploring the ‘void’ of silent/ced knowledge and expertise of multilingual learners 206
  18. Chapter 12. Critical collaborative autoethnography 232
  19. Chapter 13. Commentary: Challenging extractive epistemologies through positionalities of relation and community accountability 253
  20. Chapter 14. Conclusion: Innovative research on multilingual literacy development 261
  21. Index 265
https://doi.org/10.1075/rmal.11.10dav

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. List of contributors vii
  4. Chapter 1. Introduction: Innovative paths in researching multilingual literacy development 1
  5. Part 1. Challenges and affordances of qualitative methodological approaches
  6. Chapter 2. Rethinking qualitative meta-syntheses in literacy studies 24
  7. Chapter 3. An ethnetnography of (non)belonging 45
  8. Chapter 4. Communicating selves 67
  9. Chapter 5. Commentary: The instability of ‘data’ in a postdigital era 92
  10. Part 2. Challenges and affordances of qualitative methodological approaches
  11. Chapter 6. Korean American children’s voices in translanguaging Play-Based Family Literacy (PBFL) through the  suda  ( 수다 ) approach 102
  12. Chapter 7. Bridging language and STEM 125
  13. Chapter 8. Families’ literacies of (in)visibilty 149
  14. Chapter 9. Commentary: Advancing theory through multilingual literacy qualitative research 171
  15. Part 3. Interrogating research practices
  16. Chapter 10. Embodied reflexivity and researching the literacy practices of an adolescent multilingual refugee who is d/Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing 184
  17. Chapter 11. Exploring the ‘void’ of silent/ced knowledge and expertise of multilingual learners 206
  18. Chapter 12. Critical collaborative autoethnography 232
  19. Chapter 13. Commentary: Challenging extractive epistemologies through positionalities of relation and community accountability 253
  20. Chapter 14. Conclusion: Innovative research on multilingual literacy development 261
  21. Index 265
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