I’ve learned a lot about the function of literacy from taking this class. At first I had no idea what to expect and came into the class with my own views on what constitutes literacy. As we have come to understand is a typical viewpoint, it was pretty limited. I have been a reader and excelled in English since I was young so I have been well versed in the literary canon and what society expects from its “literate.” It was not until this class that I have come to understand vastness of the term. I am constantly re-evaluating my opinion on personal literacy habits and it’s been pretty eye-opening. I have been challenged to reassess the practices of my generation, of those before, and of those after, and to appreciate what literacy meant, what it means, and what it could mean in the future.

I thought an interesting idea about the “What’s ‘New’ In New Literacy Studies” was the idea that NLS uses autonomous literacy as a blanket term that doesn’t account for the broad web included in the development of “local literacy.” It is suggested that NLS is guilty of “romanticizing the local.” There is a new vocabulary required when speaking about the varied types of literacy in terms that are not so black and white like autonomous and ideological. Literacies that impact local literacy but are not directly local are not necessarily autonomous, but instead “distant.” Essentially the article cites studies that demand new conceptual tools to identify the relation between local and distant literacy. Distant meaning their distance from the local literacy, their influence on it, and the fact that it is not invented locally define what this “distant” literacy mean and it’s importance to local literacy in relation to the studies of NLS. The article claims we must “characterize the shift from observing literacy events to conceptualizing literacy practices.” This is important to dealing with the correlation of local to distant and identifying the branches of “social” literacy.

Connecting this article with the article written by Keri Franklin we can see that her journey into using twitter was aided by multiple writing resources that came from beyond her own personal/societal literacy influence. She required outside resources such as new language and help from colleagues in order to master this new craft and formed a web of support that influenced her usage and writing on twitter. She also learned to cater to a broader audience that lends itself to inquire what exactly local literacy is, given that it is something that can be shared and influenced by so many cultures and people across the internet and social media forums.

The idea of a social view of literacy at first glance seems very vague. When we examine articles from Brandt, Scribner, and Williams, however, it is clear that they each have a very particular, albeit indefinable idea of the meaning of social literacy. Brandt reflects on the idea of sponsors of literacy. This means basically that there are people within your family or society aiding in your development as a literate human being outside of the classroom. “Almost everyone now has some sort of contact, for instance, with college educated people, whose movements through workplaces, justice systems, social service organizations, houses of worship, local government, extended families, or circles of friends spread dominant forms of literacy (whether wanted or not, helpful or not) into public and private spheres” (Brandt, 179). In this instance Brandt speaks about the pervasive culture of formal literacy into the lives of average individuals in the social sphere, even if it is unhelpful or unwanted, it is still influential.

Scribner uses a concrete case study to examine the social meaning of literacy. Her case study reflects the literacy practices of an old society called the Vai. The Vai have utilized their own system of language both written and oral through specially kept social practices such as letter writing and business. “The Vai script has been passed on from one generation to another in tutorial fashion without benefit from a formal institution such as a school and without the constitution of a professional teacher group” (Scribner, 22). Their language has been passed down for over 150 years purely through social teachings and without use of formal institutions.

Williams argues against the idea that in middle class America the use of “conventional” literacy is crucial to success. “Unconventional speech or language is regarded in the larger culture as an indication of lower class status, and any person who uses it is penalized in terms of economic opportunities” (Williams, 180). This is a dangerous cultural truth that threatens the access of literacy developments beyond those that are deemed historically appropriate. Because most of middle class America has bought into this ideal it is then stressed to younger generations and socially enforced through job opportunities and inter-personal exchanges. William’s idea is that any member of the middle class will be afraid to break this cultural identity for fear of being downgraded to lower class in the eyes of their peers.

When I reflect on my own experiences of literacy outside of my “individual literacy,” which I take to mean formal schooling and parent interactions, I look at two big examples, one is my sorority the other my job. In both facets I had to acquire a new set of literacy skills in order to participate. The initial I have deemed my sorority literacy. Upon joining I had to acquire an entirely new set of language practices including understanding the Greek system and its letters, as well as knowing Robert’s Rules of Order for business meetings. Both are crucial and both I acquired through the teachings from my sisters and from experience. What I came into the sorority with was my “personal literacy” meaning the ability to read and write, both things would not have been taught to me by my sorority and both things would have been crucial to my development in sorority literacy and conversely my inability to function on the personal literacy level could have hindered my ability to function in this social sphere. My other example of the acquisition of social literacy is my job. Upon entering my job I had my personal literacy taught to me by formal institutions. I had to acquire the knowledge of sales and terminology to be successful after being hired. To do this I observed my boss and other coworkers and their interactions with customers. I learned both through examples and explanation how to function at work.

 

 

For the literacy Interview I interviewed my mother Laura Schwartz.

She had some interesting things to say about modern literacy but what I appreciated the most from the interview were the insights into her education at home. My grandfather was an avid reader and writer and used to play word games with my mother when she was a child. He would use a large and difficult word in a sentence and my mother would have to figure out what it meant. He wouldn’t tell her, rather he would use the word in a few other sentences and my mother would look up the definition in a dictionary or however she needed to.

This seemed like a clever and intriguing way to get children involved in literacy and expand their vocabulary.