Critical Digital Literacies among Youth: From Food Eating Contests to Societal Transformation

In this chapter we trace the development of students’ critical digital literacies as they create and share digital stories. This project was carried out by a team of researchers, teachers, undergraduate and graduate students, and community partners with the UC Links network. Through a curriculum rooted in developing critical imaginings of self, others, and their local and global communities, students’ composition practices shifted from being centered on topics that were considered “viral” to ones that were more rooted in addressing social issues. We explore how the curriculum supported these shifts in students’ stories and the powerful narratives they crafted through this renewed curriculum.