Literacy and Culture in the Classroom: An Interview with Kris Gutierrez

Abstract

Literacy and Culture in the Classroom: An Interview with Kris Gutierrez M y r n a G w e n Turner University of California, Los Angeles PROFILE K r i s Gutierrez is an Associate Professor in the Graduate School o f Educa­ tion & Information Studies and head o f the division o f Administration, Curricu­ lum, and Teaching Studies at the University of California, L o s Angeles. Her expe­ rience as director of a freshman writing program for provisionally admitted stu­ dents sparked her interest in the issue o f literacy, and her concern over the gate keeping function o f literacy led her to P h . D . research in rhetoric and composition at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Prof. Gutierrez' literacy work has contin­ ued to investigate the issues of identity, marginalization, social justice, and power relations in the classroom. Her studies o f the social organization of literacy have centered around the connections between language, culture, and human develop­ ment. T h i s discourse-based research informs teachers of the social practices of the classroom by examining the social and cognitive consequences of literacy prac­ tices.. Prof. Gutierrez' current research investigates effective literacy practices, issues of urban mobility, and the effects o f intervention programs on literacy and problem-solving. INTRODUCTION In this interview Prof. Gutierrez discusses the issue of literacy as a gate keeper and how her own experiences as a bilingual Latina and as a teacher of writing led to her interest in sociocultural understandings of literacy and language learning. She emphasizes the importance of discourse-based analysis, its capacity to capture and illustrate for teachers the discursive practices of the classroom and their consequences on literacy learning. Dr. Gutierrez also discusses the issue o f high urban mobility and other research projects that she is pursuing that employ a multi-method and multi-disciplinary framework.. INTERVIEW Turner: Could you tell us how your interest in language and literacy began? Gutierrez: A s a young bilingual child it was difficult not to become acutely aware of the privilege o f knowing two languages and to understand quickly the power of Issues in Applied Linguistics © Regents of the University of California ISSN 1050-4273 Vol. 7 No. 2 1996 308-314