Hi Daphne--

I would stay with the name we have now, but put race in quotes:  "race."

THANK YOU MEV!  for defining and explaining "praxis."  Good to hear 
your voice, again.

Andrea
On Oct 27, 2007, at 10:30 AM, WE LEARN wrote:


> Hi all

> I'm only now catching up on the 200+ some messages I had unread from 

> this listserv. I'm usually more up-to-date -- but it's been a wildly 

> busy 2 months...

>

> Anyway, if it's not too late....I like to recommend that we call this 

> list "Praxis for Literacies." 

>

> As defined in "Breaking Free," edited by Pepi Leistyna, et.al.: 

> "Praxis is the relationship between theoretical understanding and 

> critique of society (that is, its historical, ideological, 

> sociopolitical, and economic influences and structures) and action 

> that seeks to transform individuals and their environment....[it is] a 

> dialectical movement that goes from action to reflection and from 

> reflection upon action to a new action." (p. 342)

>

> Many of us will recognize this from its Freirean roots -- and will 

> understand it in a context of seeking to use literacy/education to 

> transform the inequities and injustices that exist in our programs, 

> communities, regions, countries. In this way, we can discuss the 

> intersections of our diversities. And, for many of us, praxis implies 

> what I believe this list wants to do -- which is to understand how 

> both learners and teachers are disadvantaged and marginalized 

> by systematized oppressions and privileges. This word does assume a 

> certain progressive/deconstructionist stance (for those of you who 

> prefer to use that sort of language). For the rest of us, praxis means 

> education for social change. 

>

> By using a word such as praxis, we can discuss race/ethnicity, 

> language/culture, gender/women, class/poverty, age, (dis)ability, 

> sexuality, and other diversities without "othering" ourselves or the 

> listserv. We can have powerful discussions (like those that have been 

> happening) without losing vision. And we can take into consideration 

> that these issues are extremely complex and interconnected and cannot 

> be encased only in words such as race, class, gender. Literacies means 

> that we can understand education in a broader holistic sense, not 

> merely in the functionalities of reading, writing, and arithmetic.

>

> And thanks to those who have spoken highly of WE LEARN. The call for 

> Proposals for the March 2008 conference is now ready and I will post 

> it in a separate email later today. You will see that the theme for 

> the upcoming conference extends the discussion already happening on 

> this list.

>

> Mev

>

>

>

> Mev Miller, Ed.D., Director

>

> WE LEARN

> Women Expanding: Literacy Education Action Resource Network

> www.litwomen.org/welearn.html

>

> 182 Riverside Ave.

> Cranston, RI 02910

> 401-383-4374

> welearn at litwomen.org

>

>

>

> ----------------------------------------------------

> National Institute for Literacy

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