Mary Maguire

Professor Emerita

Mary McGuire

mary.maguire [at] mcgill.ca (Email)
(514) 398-4527 Ext. 00375
Room 405, Education Building

Areas of interest

  • Multiple & multilingual literacies
  • Ethnographic and qualitative research
  • Multicultural/multilingual identity construction
  • Heritage language contexts/schools, diaspora
  • Third space, multiple discourses. inter-cultural education

Description of research/teaching activities

My major research programme focuses on multilingual children’s agency, identity construction and negotiation of multiple literacies in multicultural contexts. I continue to build from previous SSHRC studies of multilingual literacy practices, discourses, children’s voices and texts. It supports my teaching of multilingual/multicultural literacies and qualitative / ethnographic research methodologies and methods

I am a co investigator on a SSHRC funded study with the Faculty of Medicine that focuses on understanding the multiple discourses and creating dialogues about diversity, equity and excellence in a Canadian Medical school’s admission process in an urban city. How higher education institutions can, or should and ultimately choose students for admissions is a timely, socially relevant issue in an increasing climate of globalization and diverse student populations in all disciplines. In 2005-2007, I was a collaborator on a Major Initiatives SSHRC grant Making Publics: Media, Markets & Associations in Early Modern Europe 1500-1700 (Faculty of Arts Dr. Paul Yachin) and a member of a group exploring Shakespeare’s Cariolanus and what it teaches about citizenship and social agency.  In 2006-2007, I was the methodologist for a study of the Readability of Food Product Labels (Dr. Metz & Dr. Mackey) funded by the Office of Consumer Affairs Industry Canada. This project, an assessment of the ease of reading of different typographical presentations on consumer food labels, challenges the adequacy of Canadian legislation and regulations that guide the presentation of mandatory label information.

Selected publications
Razack, S. Maguire M. Hodges, B. & Steinert Y., (2012). What might we be saying to potential applicants to medical school? Discourses of Excellence, Equity & Diversity on the websites of Canada’s 17 medical schools. Academic Medicine Vol. 7 (10), pp. 1321-9.

Maguire M. H. (2011). A Missing Dimension in Multiculturalism in Higher Education: The Marginalization of International Students’ Voices and Writing Identities. Canadian Issues/Thèmes Canadiens, 35-40. Special Issue Diversity and Education for Liberation: Realities, Possibilities, and Problems. Guest Editors Dr. Ratna Ghosh & Dr. Kevin McDonough.

Lee, Heekyeong & Maguire Mary H. (2011). International Students and Identity. Resisting dominant ways of writing and knowing in academe. In D. Starke- Meyerring, A. Paré, N. Artemava, M. Horne, & L. Yousouhova (Eds.), Writing in Knowledge Societies Parlor Press and WAC Claringhouse  pp 351-370.

Maguire M. H. (2010). Lessons in Understanding Montreal Heritage Contexts: Whose Literacies and Voices are privileged. Official Languages Bilingual Institute/Working Papers /Cahiers de L’ILOB, Vol. 1, 1001-1026.

Maguire, M. H. (2010). Whose Literacies Landscapes Really Matter? Learning from Children’s Disruptions. Learning Landscapes. Vol 3. No. 1, Autumn 2009/2010, pp. 189-205.

Maguire, M. H. (2009). Patient Centered Care & Patient Voice. Interview with Laura Bergname The Heart-Le Coeur, Issue 31, Fall 2009.

Maguire, M. H. (2007). Reflections on Researching in Multilingual Contexts. International Journal of Sociolinguistic Studies. Vol 1. No 1., pp. 5-24. Equinox Press.

Konidaris, E. & Maguire, M. H. (2007). Points of Enunciation: Portraits of Two Greek Trilingual Perceptions of Growing Up as Bill 101 Students. International Journal of Sociolinguistic Studies. Vol 1. No 1., pp. 87-106. Equinox Press.

Maguire, M. H. & Curdt-Christiansen, X. L. (2007). Multiple Schools, Languages, and Experiences & Affiliations: Ideological Becoming and Positionings. Heritage Language Journal, 1-17

Beer, A. J., Maguire, M. H., Yoshida, R., Attarian, H., Curdt-Christiansen, X. L., Lee, H., Baygin, D., Yagnahian, A. (2007). The dictée in multilingual contexts: Exploring literacy memories across language Contexts. International Journal Sociolinguistic Studies.Vol 1. No 1., pp. 47-66. Equinox Press.

Curdt-Christiansen, Xiao Lan & Maguire, Mary. H (2007). Self, Voice and Discursive Identity Constructions: The Textual Powers of Three Trilingual Chinese Girls. In Thiessen, D. & Cook-Sather, C. (Eds.) International Handbook of Students Experiences of Elementary and Secondary School. Springer (Dordech) Netherlands Publishers. 517-554

Maguire, M. H. (2006). Autoethnography: Answerability/Responsibility in Authoring, Self and Other in the Social Sciences/Humanities. Review Essay: Carolyn Ellis (2004) The Ethnographic I: A Methodological Novel about Autoethnography. Forum Sozialforschung/Forum: Qualitative Social Research [On-line-Journal] www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/106.

Maguire, M. H. (2006). Invited Review Essay  Dialogue with Bakhtin on Second & Foreign Language Learning: New Perspectives (Joan Kelly Hall, Gergana, Vitanova,Ludmila Marchenkova. Journal of Linguistics and the Human Sciences Vol. 2 No.  1 Equinox

Maguire, M. H. (2006). Review Essay B. Howe & K Clavell. Empowering Children: Children’s Rights Education as a Pathway to Citizenship. University of Toronto Press McGill Journal of Education.

Maguire, M. H. (2005). What if you talked to me? I could be Interesting! Ethical Considerations in Engaging with Bilingual/Multilingual Child Participants in Human Inquiry. Forum Sozialforschung/Forum: Qualitative Social Research [On-line Journal] 6(1) Art. 4. www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/530.

Maguire, Mary H., Beer, Ann J., Attarian, H., Baygin, D., Curdt-Christiansen, X. L. Yoshida, R. (2005). The Chameleon Character of Literacy Portraits, Re-searching in Heritage Language Spaces and Places. In Anderson, J., Kendrick, M., Rogers, T. & Symthe, S. (Eds.) Portraits of Literacy: Critical Issues in Family, Community and School Literacies. Lawrence Erlbaum. 141-170

Maguire, M. H. (2005). Identity and Agency in Multilingual Children’s Cultural Worlds: Third Space and Heritage Languages, In Cohen, J., McAlister, K., Rolstad, K. & MacSwan, J. (Eds.) 4th International Symposium on Bilingualism. Summerville, MA: Cascadilla Press. 1423-1445.

Maguire, M. H. & Beer, A. J. (2005). Researching Multiple Literacies in Heritage Language Contexts. Finding That Third Space. CD & also On line Proceedings of the University of Vigo International Conference on Bilingualism. Suarez, A. M. L., Ramallo, F., Rodriguez, X. P. (Eds.) Vigo, Spain: Aervizo de publicacion da universidad de Vigo 1-22.

Maguire, M. H. (2005). Review Essay Anne Haas & Genishi, Ceilia. On the Case: Approaches to Language & Literacy Research (National Council Research in the Language & Literacy Series). National Council of Teachers of English. www.cte.org/pubs/books/selects.

Maguire, M.H., & Graves, B. (2001). Speaking personalities in primary school children’s L2 writing. TESOL Quarterly, 35, 561-593.

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