Digital Literacy Expert to Speak at the University of Arkansas

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Margaret Hagood

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Margaret Hagood, an innovative scholar of literacy teaching and learning among pre-teens and adolescents, will speak on “A Shot in the Arm:  Middle School Teachers’ Instructional Practices Influenced by Participatory Culture, Liberatory Education, and Digital Literacies” at 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 21, in Kimpel Hall, room 411.

Hagood is an associate professor at the College of Charleston in South Carolina. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in early childhood, elementary and middle grade literacies, focusing on digital literacies and pop culture. She also conducts professional development and research with middle school teachers and students, studying how they understand new literacies and utilize out-of-school literacies to improve performance in teaching and learning with literacies in schools.  

Hagood is the co-editor of The Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, a flagship journal in literacy studies. Her most recent publication is Bring It to Class: Unpacking Pop Culture in Literacy Learning, which she co-authored with two former colleagues.

“The book speaks both to skeptical instructors who favor traditional canonical literature and to technology enthusiasts who already use popular music and video in their classrooms,” said Hagood. 

The lecture is free and open to the public, and teachers from area schools are particularly welcome to attend. Hagood’s visit is made sponsored by the Brown Chair in English Literacy in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. The Brown Chair is held by David A. Jolliffe, professor of English.