Literacy Practices: Investigating Literacy in Social Contexts (Language In Social Life)

Baynham, Dr Mike

ISBN 10: 0582087082 / ISBN 13: 9780582087088

Published by Longman, 1995

About this Item

Most items will be dispatched the same or the next working day. A copy that has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Seller Inventory # rev4360603785

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Literacy Practices: Investigating Literacy in Social Contexts (Language In Social Life)
• Publisher: Longman
• Publication Date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0582087082
• ISBN 13: 9780582087088
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: Very Good
• Weight: 320 grams

About this title

Synopsis

Recent developments in literacy research argue that literacy is not a neutral package of decontextualized skills, but must be understood in context as situated social practice.
Literacy Practices combines key theoretical issues in 'The New Literacy Studies' with illustrative case studies to examine this argument and provide new, more adequate ways of understanding literacy. In particular it argues that an adequate account of literacy must draw on both linguistic and social theory, providing a theory of text and a theory of practice. It emphasizes in particular the roles of literacy in multilingual settings and much of the case study material is drawn from the author's own work in London and Sydney.
The book begins by asking what is literacy and what models, myths and metaphors underpin its everyday understandings. It examines the social context of literacy, reviewing important theoretical sources and providing illustrative case studies, going on to review current linguistics perspectives on literacy, with illustrative texts. Mike Baynham also includes a critical review of ideas on reading and writing development from a social practice perspective, and concludes with a discussion of issues in researching literacy as social practice.
Literacy Practices will be of interest to students of applied linguistics, language education, cultural studies and adult education, as well as literary theorists and researchers, and anthropologists.