WA1: Redefining Literacy

Redefining Literacy

Literacy is often referred to simply as the ability to read and write. The true concept behind literacy, however, is harder to define. Aside from just looking at the ability to read and write, it is important that we realize the many different ways those abilities can be employed. The ways people use reading and writing in their everyday lives affects their degree of literacy. I see literacy as the way we use and interact with written and spoken word on a regular basis.

The concept of literacy is just as diverse as the many people who use it. “The roles of individuals and their places within social groups are preeminent in determining both what is read and written.” Things such as ethnicity, age, sex, and socioeconomic class are just a few of the characteristics of people that can greatly impact the things in which they are literate. Depending on people’s individual lifestyles, the things they need to be literate in will differ in comparison to someone living in a different environment under different circumstances. Other personal characteristics, especially those that people have more of a choice in, also have the power to greatly affect a person’s literacy. These personal characteristics also affect a person’s motivation. Szwed refers to reading motivation as something that is sometimes defined as “the nexus at which reader, or writer, context, function, and text join.” The reasons behind someone’s motivation can be influenced by a variety of things such as nostalgia, the desire to accomplish something, a newfound interest in something, and even just boredom. Rather than thinking of literacy as one thing to be defined in one all-encompassing concept, we should see “a plurality of literacies”.

The different types of literacies can be applied in literacy practices and literacy events. Literacy practices offer “a powerful way of conceptualizing the link between the activities of reading and writing and the social structures in which they are embedded and which they shape”. Put simply, a literacy practice is how people apply literacy. The ways people apply literacy involves not only behaviors we can actually witness, but also personal values, attitudes, feelings, and social relationships. Literacy events are activities where literacy plays an active role. In order to participate in a literacy event, one must first be literate in whatever type of literacy is used in the task. Literacy events, unlike literacy practices, are observable behaviors. The two are closely related because a literacy event comes from and is shaped by the literacy practice involved.
 
Literacy events can be observed in their respective domains. A domain is the “structured, patterned contexts within which literacy is used and learned”. Domains are not only where those literate in a certain kind of literacy can actively engage in their literacy, but also where new people can learn about that literacy. A domain allows people to put their literacies into action. Knowing the domains where certain literacies take place is a key part in becoming literate in something. A domain allows for repeated and structured exposure to a certain kind of literacy. This safe place has the tendency to bring together people who are all literate in a similar kind of literacy. For doctors and nurses, a hospital or clinic could serve as their domain. For dancers, the studio and the stage could serve as their domain. For people who share a love for a certain genre of music, a concert could serve as their domain.

For my ethnography, I would like to research the subculture of visual kei. Visual kei is a Japanese music subculture centered on elaborate fashion and rock music. It is a subculture that
has been around since the 1980s. In the early 2000s, it gained a resurgence and growth in popularity that has earned large a following both in Japan and overseas. There are many sites where visual kei is prominent. Concerts, cosplay, and online communities are just a few of the domains where visual kei plays a big part.

The vast amount of literacies are influenced by an even greater amount of individuals. This diversity forces us to look beyond the traditional ways literacy can be applied. Being more than just the ability to read and write, literacy plays an extremely important role in societies and cultures around the world. Learning the social meaning behind literacy and how it is used by different people of different backgrounds will help us get a better understanding of what literacy truly is.