Rewriting Literacy

Candace Mitchell, Kathleen Weiler

Rewriting Literacy makes a profound contribution to the developing field of literacy studies as it is the first book which seeks to link such disciplines as linguistics, sociolinguistics, anthropology, education, English as a second language, and reading and writing theory.The chapters in this edited collection, by some of the foremost scholars of the day, all focus on the nature of literacy. Each article brings to light important concerns regarding literacy, concerns which are often ignored by the more traditionally oriented educationalist. The authors illustrate how literacy is embedded in a social and cultural context bringing into question the very nature of what it means to be literate. Each piece highlights, either implicitly or explicitly, the highly political nature of literacy and in doing so approaches the study of literacy from a critical and pedagogical perspective. The body of work presented in this volume is relevant not only to individuals whose main focus is on the area of literacy studies, but to all those concerned about minority disenfranchisement, institutional inequity, and the political, cultural, and social dimensions of education.

This book is the first of its kind to link such fields as linguistics, anthropology, sociolinguistics, and education to illustrate how the problem of literacy is embedded in a social and cultural context.

Series Introduction: Literacy, Difference, and the Politics of Border Crossing by Henry A. GirouxPrefaceLiteracy, Discourse, and PowerWhat Is Literacy? by James Paul GeeDiscourses of Power, the Dialectics of Understanding, the Power of Literacy by Adrian T. BennettThe Struggle for Voice: Narrative, Literacy and Consciousness in an East Harlem School by Michele Sola and Adrian T. Bennett"Gimme Room": School Resistance, Attitude, and Access to Literacy by Perry GilmoreMultiple Ways of Constructing RealityThe Narrativization of Experience in Oral Style by James Paul GeeHearing the Connections in Children's Oral and Written Discourse by Sarah MichaelsDiscourse Systems and Aspirin Bottles: On Literacy by James Paul GeeThe Politics of Reading and WritingThe Importance of the Act of Reading by Paolo FriereThe Politics of an Emancipatory Literacy in Cape Verde by Donaldo P. MacedoTropics of Literacy by Linda BrodkeyThe Construction of School Knowledge: A Case Study by Jan NesporBenjamin's Story by Jonathan KozolPetra: Learning to Read at 45 by Pat RiggLiteracy, History, and IdeologyHow Illiteracy Became a Problem (and Literacy Stopped Being One by James DonaldHegomonic Practice: Literacy and Standard Language in Public Education by James CollinsPopular Literacy and the Roots of the New Writing by John WilinskyIndex