Erica Rosenfeld Halverson, Assistant Professor

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Three Expertise Keywords:
identity, literacy, performance

Read More:

http://www.education.wisc.edu/edpsych/facstaff/ehalverson.htm
http://www.gameslearningsociety.org

Why Digital Media and Learning?

The production of digital media is a hugely powerful way for youth to develop a positive sense of self while engaging with sophisticated literacy practices. We need to understand better how this works, why it works, and how we can design learning environments that all kids have access to.

Recent Posts:

1. Erica Rosenfeld Halverson: Identity Production in Youth Filmmaking (November 29, 2007)

Description of Current Work:

My research is focused on the relationship between narrative and identity, what youth learn about themselves and what they learn about the core literacy practices of comprehension and representation by working with the stories of their lives. I am particularly interested in how adolescents who feel marginalized from mainstream institutions can engage in positive identity development through participation in complex literacy tasks. My research lies at the intersection of literacy studies and developmental psychology; I have argued through my work that literacy and identity are inextricably connected, especially for youth who do not have legitimated opportunities to explore their sense of self through the normal course of their school, work, or home lives. My work to date has documented how marginalized youth develop viable social identities through the telling, adapting, and performing narratives of personal experience through drama, film and in on-line learning environments.

Selected Publications/Projects/Articles/Press:

Publications on narrative and identity:

Halverson, E. R. (under review). From one woman to everyman: The reportability paradox in publicly performed narratives. Submitted to Narrative Inquiry.
Halverson, E. R. (2007). Listening to the voices of queer youth: The dramaturgical process as identity exploration. In M. V. Blackburn and C. Clark (Eds.), New directions in literacy research for teaching, learning and political action. New York: Peter Lang Publishing.
Halverson, E. R. (2005). InsideOut: Facilitating gay youth identity development through a performance-based youth organization. Identity: An International Journal of Theory & Research, 5(1), 67-90.

Publications & press on my research on fantasy baseball as competitive fandom:

Halverson, E. R. and Halverson, R. (in press). Competitive fandom: The case for fantasy baseball. To appear in Games and Culture, January 2008.
Researchers studying fantasy baseball and competitive fandom: http://www.news.wisc.edu/13936