Community Literacy Journal Oct 2006 Open Access

Community Literacy: A Rhetorical Model for Personal and Public Inquiry

Lorraine Higgins Worcester Polytechnic Institute ; Elenore Long Bay Path University ; Londa Flowers Bay Path University

Abstract

This paper develops a rhetorically centered model of community literacy in the theoretical and practical context of local publics—those spaces where ordinary people develop public voices to engage in intercultural inquiry and deliberation. Drawing on fifteen years of action research in the Community Literacy Center and beyond, the authors characterize the distinctive features of local publics, the deliberative, intercultural discourses they circulate, and the literate practices that sustain them. They identify four critical practices at the heart of community literacy: assessing the rhetorical situation, creating local publics, developing citizens’ rhetorical capacities, and supporting change through the circulation of alternative texts and practices.

Journal
Community Literacy Journal
Published
2006-10-01
DOI
10.25148/clj.1.1.009529
CompPile
Open Access
OA PDF Gold
Topics
modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism literacy studies community literacy
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (7)

  1. Lamberti (2025)
    From Knowledge Transfer to Knowledge Creation: Using Public Pedagogy to Evolve …
    Reflections: A Journal of Community-Engaged Writing and Rhetoric
  2. Dush (2023)
    The Art of Assembly: Script, Platform, Document
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Roderick (2019)
    Self-Regulation and Rhetorical Problem Solving: How Graduate Students Adapt to …
    Written Communication
  4. Bowen (2017)
    The Limits of Hacking Composition Pedagogy
    Computers and Composition
  5. Dush (2014)
    Building the Capacity of Organizations for Rhetorical Action with New Media: An…
    Computers and Composition
Show all 7 →
  1. Hitchcock (2012)
    When the Rhetorical Situation Calls Us Out: Documenting Voices of Resistance an…
    Reflections: A Journal of Community-Engaged Writing and Rhetoric
  2. Long (2008)
    Educating Future Public Workers: Can We Make Inquiry Professional?
    Reflections: A Journal of Community-Engaged Writing and Rhetoric

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CrossRef global citation count: 14 View in citation network → Build reading path →

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