Critical AI Literacy
Fall 2025: Mondays, 2:30-3:30, September 22, September 29, October 6, and October 20 (on Zoom)
How can learning about or with AI increase our students’ agency as writers and language users? How can we teach students to be critical users of AI, and more deeply engaged writers and thinkers? We will explore literature and research that works at the intersection of critical language awareness (CLA) and AI literacy. We will also consider the practical ways in which CAIL can be embedded in our courses and brainstorm ways in which we can co-create an effective learning and thinking environment where CAIL is an integral part of our courses.
Session 1--What is CAIL?
Readings:
- Vee, Annette. (2025). “What is Critical AI Literacy?.” AI & How We Teach Writing.
- Gegg‑Harrison, Whitney, & Shapiro, Shawna. (2025). “From Policing to Empowerment: Promoting Student Agency in the Context of AI Text-Generators and AI-Detection Tools,” Rethinking Writing Education in the Age of Generative AI. Routledge.
- Bozkurt, Aras. (2024). ”GenAI et al.: Cocreation, Authorship, Ownership, Academic Ethics and Integrity in a Time of Generative AI.” Open Praxis, vol. 16, no. 1.
Guiding questions:
- Why is CAIL crucial in our current learning environment?
- How can we make sure students are using AI tools both effectively and critically?
- What does “critical AI literacy” mean in the context of writing instruction?
- How is AI already shaping language use and authorship in student writing?
- How can we frame AI tools as objects of analysis rather than just tools for productivity?
Further reading (if interested):
Session 2--CLA and CAIL
Readings:
Guiding questions:
- How can we use CLA as a lens to navigate the widespread use of AI in the classroom?
- How can CLA principles empower us as educators?
- How do large language models (LLMs) reflect and reproduce dominant ideologies about language, identity, and correctness?
- In what ways can AI exacerbate linguistic discrimination or marginalization?
- How does CAIL relate to Critical Language Awareness (CLA)?
- How do we feel about the intersections of bias, information, power, and politics?
Further reading (if interested):
Session 3--How can we imagine CAIL embedded in WR courses?
Readings:
Guiding questions:
- How can we make CAIL part of the conversation when we teach research and fair use?
- How can AI tools be used for pedagogical purposes? To demonstrate concepts, provide examples, to summarize concepts for example?
- How can we scaffold activities that help students analyze AI critically while using it responsibly?
- What do students need to understand about authorship, citation, and collaboration in an AI-mediated writing environment?
- How can writing instructors address issues of labor, surveillance, and academic integrity in relation to AI?
Further reading (if interested):
Session 4--Looking forward: CAIL and the future
Readings:
- Hsu, Hua. (2025). “What Happens After A.I. Destroys College Writing?” The New Yorker.
- In lieu of additional reading for this last session, there will be a small assignment (TBA) asking participants to make some applications and connections among the different readings and topics we have discussed.
Guiding questions:
- How do we co-create classroom spaces where students explore the ethics of AI use as part of their learning?
- What values should guide our pedagogical use of AI?
- How do we assess student writing when AI is part of the process?
Further reading (if interested):
