Doctor of Philosophy in Education - Language, Literacy, and Culture

Iowa State University

We offer a Ph.D. in Education with an emphasis in Language, Literacy, and Culture (LLC). LLC interests are guided by questions such as: What ethical and philosophical commitments have informed schooling? What have been their implications for language, literacy, and culture instruction? How have our histories and contexts shaped the use of language, literacy, and culture in and out of schools? Why do inequities persist in schools? How do we use research on language, literacy, and culture to close opportunity gaps? How can the School of Education enact the land-grant mission to engage communities in support of literacy? Who is fighting for equitable educational outcomes and what are some examples of their liberatory language, literacy, and culture practices? When and where do we see attention to themes of language, literacy, and culture in mainstream media? What does this reveal about contemporary ethical and philosophical commitments or contestations? In what ways do disciplines reflect and perpetuate systems of power? How can critical literacies and disciplinary literacies work in tandem? Distinguishing features of LLC are its attention to the past as a powerful influence on the present, and its deconstruction of knowledge, identity, and power dynamics as central to the work of reimagining schools and society for a socially just future. As a land grant university, Iowa State University is uniquely positioned to use its resources to be in service to and in partnership with communities. We therefore are invested in research that not only advances scholarly understanding of the pressing educational issues of our moment, but how we also work toward enacting transformative change.

School of Education