Literacy and Photography as Tools to Propel Stories of Self-Leadership and Change

Abstract

The chapter describes the authors' year-long workshop with undergraduate first-generation students from underserved urban communities in NY. The workshop integrated photography and literacy, creating an imaginative space where students could develop visual and critical literacy. The chapter provides an excerpt from two assignments giving an overview of the methods used, the various interactions that occurred during the workshop, and the gradual build-up of a community. It presents a new model of learning, thinking, and leadership that can be implemented in different settings. The work presents a different way of looking at the integration of art and literacy as multidimensional and as a vehicle for communal, social, and personal change. The approach is driven by personal stories of the people the authors work with and focuses on two notions: (1) that personal stories, as varied as they may be, are a medium to facilitate growth and change within people and (2) that these stories can then be used more broadly to change mindsets and expand the collective narrative of communities.