In this paper, we utilize practitioner research to consider what happened in two literacy methods courses when we positioned students as human beings in the present rather than solely as future teachers. We first situate our work within the current sociopolitical context of the U.S., making the argument that critical literacy education is more urgent now than ever. We then consider the ways in which a "here and now" positioning afforded deep engagements into two localized inquiries--one on migrant labor and immigration and the other on racial justice past and present--and illustrate that these experiences offered our students opportunities to view the world from a multiplicity of perspectives and to develop sociopolitical awareness. We conclude by arguing that literacy teacher education must undergo a dramatic shift, one that positions pre-service teachers as critically-conscious human beings and emphasizes inquiries that attend to the lived reality of the moment.