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The act of reading cannot be explained as merely reading words since every act of reading words implies a previous reading of the world and a subsequent rereading of the world (Paulo Freire, 1985)

This is a program for anyone who wants to think about:

• how we use stories to understand our worlds
• how some stories become dominant and others are submerged
• how submerged stories can help us better understand the past, present and guide us as we work to build better, liberatory futures.

It’s also a program for anyone wanting to learn and practice both oral history and engage with multiple forms of literacy to make meaning of their worlds – literacies including reading, writing, visual representation and quantitative reasoning.

We’ll begin this inquiry by taking stock of the ideas we carry with us into the program – what are my stories about the world we live in? What role have they played in my life?�� What do I believe about the nature and purpose of literacies?�� What are my relationships to literacies?�� From here we will practice some oral history tools to learn from important communities in each of our lives. We’ll work together with the understanding that: “History is the story we tell ourselves about how the past explains our present” (Aurora Levins Morales, 1998). �� We’ll work with conceptual tools from education, feminist theory, and political economy.�� We’ll engage with stories of resistance drawing from Indigenist paradigms, and learn a framework for culturally and historically responsive literacies. �� We'll use these tools to illuminate our respective worldviews and the structures that govern our society.��

To inform and stretch our ideas about whose and what knowledge is important, we will engage with stories such as those from Black Literary Societies of the 19th century, Citizenship Schools and Freedom Riders of the 20th century, as well as Olympia’s Hidden Histories. To guide our analysis, we will draw on theoretical tools from feminist theory, Indigenist paradigms, political economy and social cultural theories on literacy.��

Authors and texts we’ll likely engage will include Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass, ���Գ�������ú��’s Borderlands, Lui and colleagues’ Color of Wealth, Muhammad’s research on Black literacy societies, along with other essays and articles by Freire, bell hooks and Myles Horton.�� Field trips will include:�� Olympia’s Hidden History,�� Northwest Teaching for Justice Conference in Portland, and Lewis County’s Historical Museum.

You’ll have opportunities to practice using the written word, quantitative reasoning, visual literacy and the arts to both make sense of and show what you are learning.�� You will engage in routines of:

• Considering, representing and relating ideas from our texts that you find relevant to our inquiry;��
• Examining and explaining how your ideas are clarified, complicated, and challenged;��
• Explaining and practicing some approaches to oral history;��
• Using word, number and image to make meaning;
• Collaborative and communicate responsibly to build a learning community where we can connect with and consider what ideas help to reveal our inquiry.

This program is coordinated with��Greener Foundations for first-year students. Greener Foundations��is �鶹��’s in-person introductory student success course, which provides first-year students with the skills and knowledge they need to thrive at �鶹��. Students expected to take Greener Foundations should use CRN 10033��to register for a 2-credit Greener Foundations course in addition to this 14-credit program. When using this CRN students will take additional steps to complete their registration, more information can be found at the .

First-year students who are not expected to take Greener Foundations or have been granted an exemption should use CRN 10032��to register for this program. Find more details about who isn't expected to take Greener Foundations on the Greener Foundations website.�� ��

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Anticipated Credit Equivalences:

4 - Introduction to Political Economy

4 - Education: Uncovering Literacies

3 - Oral History as Inquiry

3 - Synthesis: Writing and Representation