Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University English Dissertations Department of English Spring 5-11-2015 Civic Engagement 2.0: A Blended Pedagogy of Multiliteracies and Activism Lauri B. Goodling Georgia State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/english_diss Recommended Citation Goodling, Lauri B., "Civic Engagement 2.0: A Blended Pedagogy of Multiliteracies and Activism." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2015. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/english_diss/148 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of English at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in English Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CIVIC ENGAGEMENT 2.0: A BLENDED PEDAGOGY OF MULTILITERACIES AND ACTIVISM by LAURI GOODLING Under the Direction of Lynée Lewis Gaillet, PhD, and Ashley Holmes, PhD ABSTRACT This study looks at the practice of teaching civic engagement through digital and Web 2.0 tools and examines the impact on agency and self-efficacy of first-year writing students. The primary focus is studying student attitudes toward use of these tools, civic engagement in general, and the perceived value of engaging civically through use of these tools with the hopes of better understanding the value of this work and the impact it will have on future civic, community, and political engagement. Based on the findings of a triad of studies published in 2012 – a CIRCLE study (“That’s Not Democracy”), Giovanna Mascheroni’s study of Italian youth and political uses of the web, and a study conducted by DoSomething.org – the researcher designed a first-year composition course that asked students to choose a cause or issue for the duration of the semester and take on roles of informer, reformer, advocate, and activist on three fronts: Twitter (microblogging), Wordpress (blogging), and YouTube (digital advocacy videos). A feminist methodology was used for this study, understanding that the participatory nature of the research was an essential part of the ethos of the researcher. Qualitative data was collected through analysis of student work, reflection essays, and semi-structured focus group conversations. Through the focus group discussions, the student participants and the researcher worked collaboratively to create knowledge. The findings of this study echoed those of the three studies mentioned above. In addition to showing that instruction and experience with digital civic engagement are linked to an increased likelihood to engage in the future, the study showed that there are numerous benefits to teaching new media, civic, and academic literacies through an activist lens in writing studies. Students acquire a host of academic and professional skills that will help them succeed in the classroom and their future careers. Beyond acquisition of research and 21st century writing skills, teaching digital activism empowers students, increases agency, and helps them grasp the value of disrupting existing, outdated, or oppressive power dynamics in effective ways. Finally, it helps develop lifelong learners who are self-motivated. INDEX WORDS: Multilteracies, Civic engagement, New media, Digital pedagogy, 21st century literacies, New literacies, Multimodal composition, Digital activism, Social Media, Rhetoric and composition CIVIC ENGAGEMENT 2.0: A BLENDED PEDAGOGY OF MULTILITERACIES AND ACTIVISM by LAURI GOODLING A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University 2015 Copyright by Lauri Goodling 2015 CIVIC ENGAGEMENT 2.0: A BLENDED PEDAGOGY OF MULTILITERACIES AND ACTIVISM by LAURI GOODLING Committee Chairs: Lynée Gaillet Ashley Holmes Committee: Elizabeth Lopez Electronic Version Approved: Office of Graduate Studies College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University May 2015 iv DEDICATION For Britt and Christopher, thanks for making me want to be a better person and do my part to make the world a better place for you to grow up in. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My family has been an endless stream of support and encouragement. Every single time I heard the words “You can do this!” or “We are so proud of you!” I have felt refueled to carry on. Thank you Mom, Daddy, Jack, Pam, Britt, and Christopher for reminding me that you believe in me over and over again. I love you all so much! My dearest colleague and confidant, Mary Helen, I thank you for reminding me not to sweat the small stuff…and for hearing me out and calming me down when I did exactly the opposite. Dr. Lynée Gaillet, thank you so much for encouraging me to enter this program. Just four years ago, I took a pedagogy class with you in order to be able to continue teaching, and you saw scholarly potential in me that I thought I might have let die a little. You also helped me remember why I fell in love with learning and teaching. You modeled for me the kind of scholar, writer, teacher, colleague, mentor – and even mother – I want to be. Your ongoing encouragement has meant so much to me. Thank you for believing in me and for guiding me in so many right directions over the past few years. Dr. Ashley Holmes, it was truly a blessing that you joined the faculty at GSU when you did, and it’s so fortunate for me that your area of expertise is public sphere theory and service learning. I learned so much in your Public Rhetorics course that helped shape my study and the work I do in the area of civic engagement in my class. I’m grateful for all of the guidance you’ve given me along the way through endless dissertation drafts, and I can’t tell you how much your excitement and enthusiasm for my writing and my work has meant to me along the way. In you, I’ve found a mentor, a future collaborator, a friend. vi Michelle Ray, thank you for the brainstorming sessions, for the ongoing social media education you’ve provided, and for inspiring me to always work to honor and respect myself, the power of the individual, and civil liberties. For those family, friends, and neighbors who’ve helped me with my kids when I crammed in Maymester classes at the start of the kids’ summer vacation, who’ve fed us on “school nights,” and who shuttled my kids to school or grabbed them after school so I could take one more class, I thank you. Nong and Vance, especially, I could not have done this without your amazing love and support. I’m so blessed to call you my second family. For my tweeps, especially @shanksalot, @coloradodrm, @Dr_TSR, @rubedawg1061, @ScholarlyChick, @wallybert, @marieke, @ChrisLeggatt, @ThePHicks13, @SarahLBlair, @jpope1977, @AllanBourdius, @SohlerSarah, @madwilliamflint, @cdhohner, @JoeFL65, @The_Beamster, who have been my cheerleaders on Twitter the past two years. Thanks for taking my stupid polls, sending me “Congrats!” and “You got this!” messages, and yes, even tweeting me Starbucks! Thanks, J, for reading almost everything I wrote in grad school and for the countless talks about my scholarship. Thanks for being one of my biggest fans. I’m grateful, too, for the fantastic scholars I was able to learn from during my doctoral coursework: Dr. Lopez, who taught me how to do research that matters; Dr. Burmester, who made me fall in love with Roman rhetoric and creative writing pedagogy; Dr. Hocks, who introduced me to digital, sonic, visual literacy, as well as the world of academic publishing; and to all of the GPC librarians who helped me find all the books! Thanks to those who reviewed sections of this draft and offered feedback, in particular, Dr. Katherine Smith of Agnes Scott College, whose seminar on the power of looking in the vii Agnes Scott Summer Teaching Institute proved to be an amazing addition to my work on visual rhetoric and art activism and who helped make sure my section on Art and Identity Politics did justice to the artists and movements of the time. Dr. Kris Fleckenstein, thank you for your brilliant and insightful scholarship, for sitting down with me at 4Cs to discuss the ways our work intersects, and for helping me see where I can take my scholarship beyond the dissertation. The time we had during our interview has been one of my favorite memories of the doctoral program. Finally, thanks to my amazing students and study participants in English Composition I who were open-minded, willing to experiment alongside me, and as supportive and encouraging and excited about my progress in the Ph.D. program as my own friends. Thanks for showing me that this work is indeed worthwhile and for engaging in such a meaningful way. I’m am grateful for all of my students over the years; they have helped shape the kind of teacher and scholar and even mother I am today. It is a great honor to be able to teach and learn from them every day. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................. v LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................... xiii LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................... xiv 1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Teaching Philosophy ........................................................................................... 1 1.2 The Problem........................................................................................................