Liberty and Literacy Today: Contemporary Perspectives Chapter Nine Ch9

Literacy as a Social Construction Past and present literacy rates affected by differences in class, race, gender, region, and social need Less need and less expectation of widespread literacy in 18th and 19th centuries Socioeconomic marginality of illiteracy a 20th-century phenomenon Ch9

Hegemony Theory Why, in the face of massive inequalities, does rebellion not occur in a democracy? Hegemony theory posits that: Institutional elites control U.S. political and economic institutions. They share a common ideology that justifies their position. Public is socialized into accepting these views through schooling, mass media, workplace. Ideology serves to limit discussion/debate and promote acceptance of status quo. Ch9

Mass Media and Cultural Hegemony Corporate chains control significant numbers of newspapers and magazines; television, publishing and films Concentration of ownership equals restriction of range of viewpoints Media criticisms of American institutions stay within acceptable bounds What will happen with computers and the Internet? Ch9

Schooling and Cultural Hegemony Hierarchical distribution of power in schools fosters compliance Nature of students’ work promotes competition; failure is personal, not linked to a structure that needs winners and losers Social stratification within the school culture encourages differences rather than commonalities Capitalist democracy lauded; instillation of compliance in students encouraged America’s social history selectively presented in textbooks Ch9

Schooling and Cultural Hegemony American society educates in contradictory ways Taught that this is a democratic society Daily experiences reinforce non-participation The option of questioning this dichotomy is not presented Citizens are prevented from participating in democratic processes Ultimately, is this really a democracy if the populace cannot participate? Ch9

Four Contemporary Perspectives on Literacy Each expresses different understandings of schooling, political economy, and ideology. Conventional literacy Functional literacy Cultural literacy Critical literacy Ch9

Conventional Literacy 1980 U.S. Census found 99.5% of adults literate – “the ability to read and write a simple message in any language” Issues with these findings: Were data collection methods appropriate? What level of literacy is reflected in the data? Could respondents read and write in English? Conventional perspective useful to support claims of progress and to mask need for adult education programs Ch9

Functional Literacy “Functional literacy” first used by Army during WWII to mean literacy that would accommodate military demands A literacy that measures ability to perform tasks requiring literacy skills or to “function effectively” Social class and literacy acquisition go hand in hand; race and ethnicity matter Limitations of functional literacy perspective Seems to imply minimum competence as a goal Tends to lay blame on the illiterate themselves, rather than social inequalities Overemphasis on mechanical skills of reading and writing; less on understanding and critical thinking Ch9

Cultural Literacy E. D. Hirsch’s argument that literacy includes a basic knowledge foundation that gives meaning to what is read “Intellectual baggage” that supports a familiarity with the events and ideas that have shaped American culture Historical names and events, authors and works of literature, geographical places, phrases, scientific terms, etc. Limitations of functional literacy perspective “Trivial pursuit” approach? Adds meaning, but falls short of advancing democratic understanding Emphasizes recognition rather than critical thinking, and is very testable Reinforces Eurocentric bias; overlooks global society Ch9

Critical Literacy Literacy may enable some parts of society to control others Critical literacy draws attention to power relations in society by focusing on racial, ethnic, gender, and class oppression Critical literacy attends to how knowledge and power are interrelated Literacy is the capacity to think and act reflectively—to understand the world and act to change social relations of oppression Ch9

Critical Literacy Method Highlights connection between knowledge and power Freire's pedagogy of “dialogue” and mutual learning Reading and writing as tools to understand, express, and change social relations Balancing criticism of the dominant culture and learning its “linguistic code” Ch9

Usefulness/Drawbacks of Perspectives Each of these supports a different educational aim Conventional  evidence of success of U.S. educational system; obscures the way illiteracy is distributed Functional  measurement of ability to function at minimum level in society; settles for minimal view of literacy Cultural  familiarity with the traditional knowledge base of our culture; promotes passive absorption of random knowledge Critical  emphasis on relationship between literacy and empowerment Ch9

Concluding Remarks The concept of literacy is embedded in social contexts and is relative to particular societies and their conditions Education is no guarantee of freedom when participatory self-government is not fostered by schools and media Critical literacy key to challenging this state of affairs Ch9