Literacy in Theory and PracticeThis book challenges conventional theories about literacy, and the practices which often arise from them. It attempts to provide a new perspective through which the variety of literacy practices across different cultures can be viewed and from which the practical issues that arise in specific literacy campaigns and programmes can be approached. Dr Street first examines the explicit theories developed about literacy within different academic disciplines, on the premise that these underlie statements about literacy within development campaigns and in everyday usage. He analyses in detail arguments about the 'technical' and 'neutral' nature of literacy and its supposed 'cognitive' consequences in the work of some psychologists, linguists and social anthropologists. He claims that these amount to a coherent but flawed model that he terms the 'autonomous' model of literacy. Against this he poses an 'ideological' model, one which pays greater attention to the social structure. He attempts to bring together recent shifts in this direction in writings on literacy and to construct a coherent model for further work. |
From inside the book
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... specific debt . Some of the more recent developments in my ideas about literacy owe much to the lively University of Sussex workshop in anthro- pology and linguistics which has provided a stimulating environment for interdisciplinary ...
... specific debt . Some of the more recent developments in my ideas about literacy owe much to the lively University of Sussex workshop in anthro- pology and linguistics which has provided a stimulating environment for interdisciplinary ...
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... specific social contexts . I shall argue that such claims , as well as the literacy practices they purport to describe , in fact derive from specific ideologies which , in much of the literature , are not made explicit . I claim , then ...
... specific social contexts . I shall argue that such claims , as well as the literacy practices they purport to describe , in fact derive from specific ideologies which , in much of the literature , are not made explicit . I claim , then ...
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... specific literacy practices and concepts 40 % of the population are supposed to acquire . Yet comparative material , some of which Anderson himself provides , demonstrates that such practices and conceptions are very different from one ...
... specific literacy practices and concepts 40 % of the population are supposed to acquire . Yet comparative material , some of which Anderson himself provides , demonstrates that such practices and conceptions are very different from one ...
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... specific social traditions . They should not be taken at face value since they serve more often to privilege the users ' own beliefs than as rigorous standards of ' truth ' . 6 The claims that texts embody ' autonomous ' meaning which ...
... specific social traditions . They should not be taken at face value since they serve more often to privilege the users ' own beliefs than as rigorous standards of ' truth ' . 6 The claims that texts embody ' autonomous ' meaning which ...
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... specific societies but also their descriptions of the processes of social change and the nature of religious and political ideology in those societies . Clammer's work on Fiji , for instance , assumes uncritically many of the tenets of ...
... specific societies but also their descriptions of the processes of social change and the nature of religious and political ideology in those societies . Clammer's work on Fiji , for instance , assumes uncritically many of the tenets of ...
Contents
The Autonomous Model I Literacy and Rationality | 19 |
The Autonomous Model II Goody | 44 |
Literacy and Linguistics | 66 |
The Ideological Model | 95 |
Introduction | 129 |
Maktab Literacy | 132 |
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Common terms and phrases
abstract academic adult literacy ALBSU anthropologists appear argue argument associated assumptions attempt autonomous challenge Cheshmeh claims Clanchy classical Greece cognitive commercial communication concepts consequences of literacy context conventions culture described Dinka language economic English establish ethnocentric explicit fact forms of literacy framework functions Goody Goody's Graff Greenfield groups Hadith Hildyard and Olson ibid illiterate individual instance institutions intellectual involved Iran Iranian Islamic kind knowledge Koran learning linguistic literacy campaigns literacy practices literacy programmes literacy skills literate modes logic Lyons maktab Mashad meaning model of literacy mullah neutral Nicaragua non-literate objectivity oral and literate orchards organisation paralinguistic Parry particular political and ideological problems recognise relation represented scientific significant simply social society speech structure suggests tajers Tanzania teachers teaching theory tion tradition Unesco unschooled Vai script village western Wolof words written forms written language