Date of Award

Spring 2025

Project Type

Dissertation

Program or Major

English

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

First Advisor

Christina Ortmeier-Hooper

Second Advisor

Alecia Magnifico

Third Advisor

Bethnay Silva

Abstract

Abstract

This dissertation reconceptualizes community-based literacy and writing practices as dynamic processes of reciprocal textual production grounded in feminist and Indigenous methodologies. It challenges traditional hierarchical structures by foregrounding community-generated epistemologies, emphasizing relational accountability, iterative reflexivity, and sustained ethical engagement. Using qualitative methods—including practitioner-created knowledge and social network maps and an analytical mapping method—the study explores how community practitioners strategically leverage their cultural identities and epistemological frameworks within collaborative writing and advocacy.Empirical case studies illustrate reciprocal knowledge production in action, showcasing intentional approaches such as oral storytelling, collaborative writing, and policy advocacy. Findings demonstrate how textual artifacts from reciprocal frameworks actively challenge institutional norms, redistribute power, and validate community epistemologies. The dissertation contributes new conceptual vocabulary and practical frameworks for explicitly operationalizing reciprocity in community-academic partnerships. Pedagogically, it provides actionable strategies for integrating reciprocal methodologies into writing curricula, cultivating inclusive and collaborative learning environments. Institutionally, it advocates for revisions in research protocols—especially within IRB processes—to ethically position community members as active co-creators of knowledge. In sum, this research promotes a critical and reflexive reimagining of composition studies, centering community-driven epistemologies to advance sustainable, equitable, and genuinely reciprocal knowledge production practices—tlamatiliztli ihuan nechicoliztli (knowledge and reciprocity).

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