In this dissertation, "Animate Literacies," I argue that conventional notions of literacy sponsorship (Brandt) fail to account for all the complexities of meaning making and power relations in queer lives, especially in othered places like Appalachia. I conduct queer literacy research in Appalachia in order to expand the scope of literacy sponsorship beyond a traditional focus on human individuals and institutions. By queering literacy methodologies and theories, I suggest that becoming literate involves a vast diversity of non-human agents, ranging from but not limited to the landscape, embodied technologies, mundane objects, and more, as well as the relations among these agents. Through a new materialist lens (Barad; Bennett; Chen), I theorize literacy as an active, participatory force--moving, shifting, flowing, perhaps even alive in its own way. My theory of animate literacies evolves from the literacy stories of five queer Appalachian participants. By bringing together queer (Alexander; Chen; Pritchard), Appalachian (Bradshaw; Donehower & Webb-Sunderhaus; Snyder), and new materialist rhetorics (Barad; Gries), my theory of animate literacies offers a queer, new materialist approach for studying the immediate affects and materiality of literacy practices. In this way, Animate Literacies forges queerly forward in order to make room for the nonhuman world to enter into its study. Complicating our relationship with the environment and all its nonhuman actors--from the food we eat, the local landscapes, to our pets, the trees, even the trash we throw away--a theory of animate literacies brings into relief how literacy is about being-with the world in more meaningful ways. Ultimately, Animate Literacies seeks to present an explanation as to how we survive in the Anthropocene and the inevitable, queer futures ahead. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]