Re-mediating the University: Learning through Sociocritical Literacies

Abstract

The article provides a framework for the development of robust learning ecologies organized around the cultural historical concept of “re-mediation”. In contrast to traditional “remedial” approaches to students from nondominant communities, re-mediation involves a transformation of the learning ecology, including a shift in the way tools and forms of assistance function to incite and facilitate learning. This article elaborates the notion of “re-mediation” in redesigning contexts for learning in which all students can be “smart” through the conscious and strategic use of a range of theoretic and material tools. The key concepts of re-mediation, a historicizing education, and sociocritical literacies are discussed in the context of two cases that illustrate two learning ecologies developed for students historically excluded from robust learning and higher education. A programme that was antecedent to the design of the current project addressed in this special issue is elaborated to emphasize the importance of attending to the historical and conceptual trails of work with students from nondominant communities.