A3: Much of my work is in partnership with others, folks whom I both love and love learning alongside. Whether that’s writing with cherished collaborators, teaching brilliant students, or conducting research in exciting spaces, all work is community work. That’s what sustains me. #literacies

A2: Late to this question, but a post I saw earlier this AM reminded me of a favorite watch that always brings joy: the British series #Taskmaster. A fantastically low-stakes, highly hilarious watch. #literacies

Y’all, I’m so excited to do some reading for fun over break. #HeatedRivalry, anyone? #hockeyliteracies

Slow and snowy Saturday.

A6: I'm looking forward to reading @karismjones.bsky.social and @scottstorm.bsky.social's book to get a better idea of how to do this, but I would love to bring notions of fandoms into my ELA teacher prep courses! #literacies

A5: While I haven't seen this, I can easily see how youth fandoms could be co-opted in ways that remove their joy, that deaden what brings folks to the fandom in the first place. I think, when considering how to utilize fandoms for #literacies work, we must always do so with authenticity and care.

A3: One of the first things that comes to mind is the work of @ebonyteach.blacksky.app. I recall listening to Dr. Thomas on a podcast as she discussed casting on the new Lord of the Rings series with Sam Sanders. Dr. Thomas's fandoms work always centers criticality! #literacies

A2: This question makes me think about the far-reaching nature of my fandoms #literacies learning. I read books, rewatch clips, listen to podcasts, all focused on my fandom community. Fandoms call for deep investment and multidimensional engagement, all centered on a shared passion.

A1: When thinking about #literacies learning in out-of-school spaces, especially as it relates to fandoms and play spaces, I have learned so much from many, but a special shout-out to @alexcorbitt.bsky.social!

Hi, #literacies folks! My name is Kyle Smith, and I am a doctoral candidate at the University of Michigan and member of the W&L Graduate Student Board. Looking forward to tonight's chat with two incredible scholars!

**TONIGHT** - Join #literacies chat as we discuss fandoms and #Literacies!

Alongside Dr. Jill Hermann-Wilmarth, I am co-editing a special issue of The Reading Teacher. Our topic, LGBTQ+ Literacies: Affirming Identities, Advancing Justice w/ Pre-K-6 Learners, is sure to be of interest to many & is SO NEEDED in these times! Manuscripts are due January 15, 2026! #literacies

Our PhD Ambassadors program had a lovely panel on advising and mentorship for early PhD students this afternoon. Thanks to Dr. Betsy Davis, Dr. Natalie Davis, Dr. @ksfinnigan.bsky.social, and Dr. Chris Torres for sharing your expertise with my colleagues and I!

Who will we see at next week's #literacies chat? Join @scottstorm.bsky.social and @karismjones.bsky.social in discussing their new book, Fandoms in the Classroom!

In seeing reports that Dems may cave to reopen the government with no substantial concessions, of course this occurs when offices are closed, when voices from angry constituents (continue to) go unheard. Regardless, I’ve made my calls, expecting them to fall on uncaring ears.

Our team met this morning to discuss and plan ways we can move forward the ideas from the #Literacies homecoming chat. We've got some exciting things in the works! @clarabbott.bsky.social @lexikwoodward.bsky.social @nicolermisra.bsky.social @carolinebr.bsky.social @kpsinedu.bsky.social

I’ve never felt more like a celebrity than when I just walked into one of my high school dissertation classroom sites with nine pizzas for their The Great Gatsby movie viewing party.

One of my favorite annual events of UMich’s secondary teacher prep program happened tonight, Grand Rounds. Interns across all disciplines come together to explore how literacy practices overlap and diverge across subject matters to solve problems of practice. Always such great conversations! #GoBlue

Amazon is helping fund a $300 million build of a ballroom for the White House. Independent bookstores are donating to food banks and organizations that help with food insecurity. They are not the same.

A6: For this question, I return to the Bell quote that @anna-phd.bsky.social and @esp-phd.bsky.social evoked to start the chat: "We exist only in relation." In this moment, those relations are vital to our survival. I look forward to a continued #literacies community that exists far into the future.

A4: I'd like to see the #literacies chat expand beyond our once a month conversations. Our team really enjoys putting the chats together, and it would be great to find ways to sustain the momentum generated within these conversations.

A3: As a grad student, one of my favorite things about the chats is getting to connect with scholars who I may only briefly encounter in spaces like conferences. I love learning from #literacies folks in our chats, chatting in a less formal social space.

A2: Some of the #literacies chat topics I've enjoyed the most were ones that centered LGBTQIA+ scholars and their work. One of the first chats I helped plan was with the brilliant @jillhdub.bsky.social, a scholar who has deeply impacted how I think about queer inclusion in school spaces.

A1: Since joining the W&L Grad Student Board, I've been a member of the Twitter/BlueSky Team. I didn't know much about the chats before, but our team works to spark new conversations every month featuring different #literacies scholars and their work.

Hi, everyone! I'm Kyle Smith, a doctoral candidate at the University of Michigan (#GoBlue!) and a member of the W&L Graduate Student Board. Looking forward to tonight's #Literacies #Homecoming!

Less than 24 hours, y’all!!

Looking forward to this chat next Tuesday! Hoping many plan to join! #literacies

Saw a sign via Instagram that said, “Your pappy didn’t run shine through these hollers for you to be a bootlicker,” and as a Kentuckian with a moonshiner great-grandfather, I deeply felt that.

Discussing and practicing planning lessons around David Levithan’s lovely middle grades novel #AnswersInThePages with my ELA Methods students tomorrow night. Did I know this is Banned Books Week when I planned the semester? …Sure. Yeah. Let’s go with that.

Don’t miss it! Mark your calendars. We’re hoping for record turnout!

A6:Tough q.It's easy to think that nothing we do is enough. But I'm grateful for our #literacies community.We may be a small pebble in the larger quarry of resistance, but I'm reminded (courtesy of Monica Trinidad & @ebonyteach.bsky.social) that small grains of sand can impede the cogs of a machine.

A5: The current administration's approach to curtail dissent is so far-reaching and multifaceted. It's horrifying. They're doing more than creating systems that instill fear around criticality. They're actively trying to rewrite the narratives that guide the nation. #literacies

A4:Efforts to irrevocably harm public ed are undeniable at this point. Censorship does more than erase stories from the fabric of our pluralistic society-- they legitimize only a few. As the DoE turns to partisan project like PragerU to make curriculum, goals of censorship are undeniable.#literacies

A2: As a queer-identifying educator who spent many years teaching in a conservative area, one of the strongest instances of censorship I experienced were moments of self-censorship guised as self-preservation. I often think about my failings because I feared for my own job and safety. #literacies

Hi, everyone! Kyle Smith, UMich PhD Candidate in Ed Studies and member of the W&L Grad Student Board. I'm at a rehearsal dinner for a friend's wedding during tonight's chat, but I'm going to check in periodically because this chat couldn't be missed! #literacies

I was just previewing the questions for this week’s chat. Definitely some spicy topics up for conversation! Looking forward to this Thursday, Sept 25th. Q’s about how to join? Lmk!

First Colbert, now Kimmel. Last-minute settlements, secret side deals, multi-billion dollar mergers pending Donald Trump's approval. Trump silencing free speech stifles our democracy. It sure looks like giant media companies are enabling his authoritarianism.

For clarification, this month's chat with Dr. Ann David "Censorship and #Literacies " will be taking place on THURSDAY, September 25th. We are so excited to connect!

Hey, that’s me, going to do a thing. Join me on 9/25! To say that the world was a bit different when I offered to host the #literacies chat back in March is an understatement. But we’ve got to talk about how censorship impacts teaching and learning.

A new Reading Research Quarterly study shows how teachers in a Catholic school navigated censorship, racism, and community pushback. By tracing the “ghosts” of white Christian nationalism, the authors reveal the struggles and possibilities of equity-focused literacy work: buff.ly/y9IrBed

Y’all. I’m so exhausted. But even more than that, I’m REALLY looking forward to what I’ll learn and share from this dissertation project. HUGE thanks to my committee, especially my chair and advisor, @wargojon.bsky.social. I’m so fortunate for the guidance from so many incredible folks.

Go blue.

I always leave #Nightgowns feeling in multitudes. I’m inspired toward change, toward the radical possibilities that come with queerness, toward art as protest. I’m always left in awe. Thank you, Sasha Velour, for Nightgowns.

The Illustrious Pearl had a moment in one of her #Nightgowns performances last night where she stated, “We will need one another in the coming days.” The simplicity yet urgency within her statement struck me. Yes. Life is not getting easier. We will need one another. We do need each other.

The first writing of queer theory that moved me to tears was Muñoz’s “Gesture, Ephemera, and Queer Feeling” in his book Cruising Utopia. The chapter was simultaneously beautiful and insightful. Tonight, I saw one of the chapter’s focal figures, Kevin Aviance. And he was beautiful.

Submitted my dissertation proposal to my committee this morning. I’m going to pretend my computer freezing when I attempted to attach the files wasn’t some omen of what’s the come.

A6: Many folks are currently siloed within echo chambers of beliefs, perspectives, and opinions. At its heart, interdisciplinary #literacies is about breaking free from those silos and learning from and with one another. Interdisciplinarity is a model for how we can build resistance to injustice.

A5: I think it's always important to consider the implications of our interdisciplinary #literacies work. If we truly are committed to justice for students, families, and communities, we have to consider how our scholarship can bring critical change to all in our locales.

A3: This is something I've been pondering in my diss proposal. A lot of literature surrounding teaching "controversial, political" topics happened in social studies/history classes. But dealing with political #literacies feels important for all subject matters to consider, especially right now.