Silence(ing) across learning spaces: New considerations for educational research aims and rationale

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Amy Vetter, Professor (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/

Abstract: This special issue represents the collaborative work from a group of nine literacy scholars across the U.S. focused on the complexities of silence (i.e., absences of or hidden communicative assertions, histories, and cultural values) in discourse and how such complexities shape what is said or explicitly communicated during social interactions. What counts as silence in discourse? What roles can silence play in shaping or refining perspectives on or assumptions about reality and one's position in society or within local community spaces? Is silence, or the act of silencing, necessarily bad, or are there instantiations of such that foster collective insight and understanding? What can silence tell us in a post-truth era? The aims of this issue is to (a) make visible what silence, or the act of silencing, looks and sounds like in social learning contexts; and (b) provide scholars ways to use this elusive construct for unpacking the cultural and linguistic biases that are prevalent in educational contexts (Blaise, 2012; Sunderland, Cowley, Rahim, Leontzakou & Shattuck, 2000; Wolfe, 2000).

Additional Information

Publication
Linguistics and Education
Language: English
Date: 2021
Keywords
social learning, silence as social learning, language

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