Reading as an Experience: Understanding the Beginner’s Journey through a Phenomenological Lens | Danielle Porter
This interactive workshop explores the phenomenology of reading, a literary approach that views meaning in the interaction between the reader and the text.
Participants will be guided through the lived experiences of readers at different stages of literacy: from the beginner’s initial frustration to the joy of advanced comprehension and contemplation.
Drawing on phenomenological principles such as intentionality and the epoché, participants will engage in a hands-on exercise simulating what it feels like to decode unfamiliar text, fostering empathy for emerging readers.
Learning Objectives:
- Experience what it feels like to be a beginner reader through a phenomenological activity.
- Reflect on the emotional and cognitive process of decoding.
- Understand reading as more than just skill-building — as a lived experience.
- Develop empathy for struggling readers, particularly those from marginalized or at-risk backgrounds.
- Leave with actionable strategies to support learners with greater patience and presence.
Danielle Porter
Danielle Porter is an AmeriCorps Member with LVI supporting the Jump Start program.
Her academic work explores lived experience, phenomenology, and how individuals perceive and interpret their own encounters with the world.
In her work with system-impacted youth, she examines how authority, safety, presence, and reading itself are experienced relationally. She integrates trauma-informed practice with philosophical inquiry, emphasizing non-transactional engagement, embodied emotional literacy, and the transformative potential of attentive presence.