David Jolliffe Lecture

"Literacy--Urban, Rural, Suburban: What's the Difference, and What Difference Does It Make?"

Eberly College Alumni Recognition Award & Lecture
Honoring David Jolliffe
Wednesday, October 27th
4:30 p.m. Gold Ballroom, Mountainlair, WVU

David Jolliffe was born in New Martinsville, West Virginia, and received his B. A. from Bethany College and his M. A. from West Virginia University before moving to Texas, where he earned his Ph.D. in English, with a specialization in rhetoric and composition, at the University of Texas at Austin. A former high school English teacher (at Wheeling Park High School), Jolliffe taught for 10 years at the University of Illinois at Chicago and 11 years at DePaul University. Since 2005, he has been Professor of English and Curriculum and Instruction and the initial occupant of the Brown Chair in English Literacy at the University of Arkansas.

In his address, David first will provide an overview of what many commentators characterize as 'the literacy problem' in contemporary culture. He will then clarify a definition of literacy that focuses on a person's ability to recognize and deal with situations in his or her life that involve substantial reading and effective writing, and he will explain the degree to which several features of urban, suburban, and rural communities support the development of this critical literacy. He will conclude by offering five specific recommendations that will, ideally, help residents of different kinds of communities confront the literacy demands that 21st-century life and work present. There should be time for questions at the end of the talk.