Milestones, Disciplines and the Future of Initiatives of Reading and Writing in Higher Education: An Analysis from Key Scholars in the Field in Latin America

Abstract This paper aims to understand the initial milestones, causes, academic activities, theoretical foundations and disciplines involved in the scholarly development of Higher Education reading and writing studies in Latin America. Eight academic leaders from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and México were interviewed in order to learn their perspectives on this development. Findings reveal that the main founding milestones are conferences starting by the 2000's decade; the UNESCO Chair is the current main academic network that congregates scholars interested in this topic; the reasons for the field's emergence are related to the increasing growth in college enrolments. Overall, a growing interdisciplinary field can be observed, but its disciplinary identity is still diffuse, given the ongoing jurisdictional disputes.

摘要 本研究旨在厘清拉丁美洲地区高等教育读写研究（Higher Education Reading and Writing Studies）学术发展历程中的初始里程碑、发展动因、学术活动、理论基础及涉及的学科范畴。本研究访谈了来自阿根廷、智利、哥伦比亚与墨西哥的8位学术领军人物，以获取他们对该领域发展的见解。研究结果显示，该领域的主要创始里程碑始于21世纪初的各类学术会议；当前汇聚该领域研究者的核心学术网络为联合国教科文组织教席（UNESCO Chair）；该领域兴起的动因与大学招生规模的持续增长密切相关。总体而言，该领域正逐步发展为跨学科研究范畴，但由于持续存在的管辖权争议，其学科身份仍较为模糊。