Farangiz Mansurova’s Profile

What is your de­f­i­n­i­tion of lit­er­acy? Lit­er­acy in Amer­i­can So­ci­ety asks stu­dents to in­ves­ti­gate the va­ri­eties of lit­er­acy be­hav­iors in Amer­i­can so­ci­ety as so­cio­cul­tural phe­nom­ena. Stu­dents will be ex­posed to the re­search of major schol­ars in the in­ter­dis­ci­pli­nary field of lit­er­acy re­search (e.g., New Lit­er­acy Stud­ies) as a means of con­sid­er­ing the role lit­er­acy and lit­er­acy be­hav­ior plays, both his­tor­i­cally and in a con­tem­po­rary con­text, in a di­verse Amer­i­can so­ci­ety. Stu­dents will an­a­lyze the var­i­ous de­f­i­n­i­tions of lit­er­acy and track the de­vel­op­ment of mul­ti­ple lit­era­cies in Amer­i­can so­ci­ety, specif­i­cally study­ing the trans­mis­sion of lit­er­acy as a cul­tural value, par­tic­u­larly in op­pressed com­mu­ni­ties. The course will pro­vide the stu­dents with the op­por­tu­nity to an­a­lyze and re­flect on their per­sonal re­la­tion­ship with lit­er­acy and op­por­tu­ni­ties for up­ward mo­bil­ity in a strat­i­fied United States.

What is your definition of literacy? Literacy in American Society asks students to investigate the varieties of literacy behaviors in American society as sociocultural phenomena. Students will be exposed to the research of major scholars in the interdisciplinary field of literacy research (e.g., New Literacy Studies) as a means of considering the role literacy and literacy behavior plays, both historically and in a contemporary context, in a diverse American society. Students will analyze the various definitions of literacy and track the development of multiple literacies in American society, specifically studying the transmission of literacy as a cultural value, particularly in oppressed communities. The course will provide the students with the opportunity to analyze and reflect on their personal relationship with literacy and opportunities for upward mobility in a stratified United States.