Social Linguistics and Literacies: Ideology in Discourses.

Abstract

Many people in "literate" societies, when asked to define literacy, almost always do so in terms of reading and writing abilities. This narrow interpretation of literacy, an offspring of reductionist psychology, has reigned supreme in many academic and educational contexts for decades, greatly shaping literacy theories and classroom practices. Within the past ten years, however, a large body of multidisciplinary research has begun to undermine the authority of this perspective by situating literacy in larger social practices.