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PAPER ID:IJIM/V.I(V)/01-06/1
AUTHOR:Leo F.H. MA, The Chinese University of Hong Kong; Hong Kong
TITLE : THE POWER OF WORDS: PROMOTING CIVIC LITERACY THROUGH WORDS
ABSTRACT: Since 2003, there has been an emerging cultural phenomenon in the United States, entitled “The Power of Words”, which acknowledges and supports the impact of the spoken, written and sung words to encourage personal and communal changes. Emphasizing the core values of personal development and community building, “The Power of Words” is an appropriate tool to initiate change in the community and the greater society through language and arts. This paper firstly discusses the notion of Transformative Language Arts which is the theoretical framework of “The Power of Words”. Secondly, it examines the concept of civic literacy and its relationship with library. Thirdly, it reviews a literary movement, which is also called“The Power of Words”, launched locally at The Chinese University of Hong Kong in September 2012. Two major language arts activities of this project, namely “Blackboard/Glass Wall Poems” and “A Day at CUHK in the 21st Century”, are discussed in greater detail
KEYWORDS: The Power of Words; Transformative Language Arts; Civic Literacy; The Chinese University of Hong Kong