The work of Rom Harré was groundbreaking in attention to the dynamics of social episodes as discursively produced. In particular, Positioning Theory, as introduced and explicated by Harré and colleagues, focused on the examination of speech and other acts to consider positions and storylines. Positioning theorists also considered the shifting patterns of rights and duties that shape and are shaped by social interaction. In this article, we briefly revisit positioning theory. We then review two critiques of positioning theory—that positioning scholars have neglected real world, naturalistic data and that positioning theory places too much emphasis on verbocentric communication (e.g., speaking, writing). Drawing upon some of the earlier observations of Harré and his collaborators, we urge consideration of artifactual and embodied positions. Extending beyond conversational interactions, we consider how the embodied actions and the artifacts produced by individuals can be analyzed. The paper includes data‐based examples of embodied interactions related to artifacts and multimodal communication in a children’s engineering literacy club. The examples demonstrate the ways in which moral orders are created and represented through multimodal interactions with artifacts as well as gesture, speech, and embodied actions.
Many immigrants and refugees in the United States must confront different linguistic and cultural contexts in their everyday life. As part of a larger ethnographic study related to refugee families and literacy, this qualitative study explores how adult English as a second language (ESL) students help their classmate Htoo Eh find ways to deal with an everyday life challenge. This study utilized two supporting theoretical frameworks: funds of knowledge and literacy as a social practice. Data sources included field notes, transcripts of video recording, artifacts, as well as conservations with the teacher and welfare coordinators. Findings demonstrate that community members utilized two funds of knowledge in particular: social network and life experience to help the focal participant. Findings also showed that adult ESL students assisted their classmates in developing three types of literacies, which were finding and obtaining childcare, knowing how the system works, and communicating with the caseworker in order to deal with an everyday life challenge. These findings suggest that educators should recognize and value adult ESL learners’ funds of knowledge as well as incorporate the knowledge into instruction. Educators also should open up space for these learners to develop literacies together as a community.
The purpose of this study is to explore the literacy practices of mothers with refugee backgrounds and the ways that they position themselves in relation to these practices. Data include fieldnotes, interviews, artifacts, and informal conversations. The findings reveal the participants’ family literacy practices within the specific domains of education, family, and community in the United States. The findings also show that the participants had multiple identity positions as cultural experts and parents who provided educational resources for their children. The study has implications for parental involvement in urban schools and for educators practicing in K-12 and adult ESL.
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