The Social Uses of Literacy: Theory and Practice in Contemporary South Africa (Studies in Written Language and Literacy, Vol 4)

This book details the findings of a research project investigating the social uses of literacy in a range of contexts in South Africa. This approach treats literacy not simply as a set of technical skills learnt in formal education, but as social practices embedded in specific contexts, discourses and positions. What this means is made clear through a series of fine-grained accounts of social uses and meanings of literacy in contexts ranging from the taxi industry in Cape Town, to family farms, urban settlements and displacement sites, rural land holdings, and various sites during the 1994 elections, and among different sectors of South African society, Black, Colored and White. Since the view of literacy presented here is so dependent on context, the book provides not only descriptions of literacy practices but also rich insights into the complexity of everyday social life in contemporary South Africa at a major point of transition. It can be read as a concrete way of understanding the emergence of the New South Africa as it appears to actors on the ground, focused through attention to one central feature of contemporary life — the uses and meanings of literacy. “Using fascinating and carefully documented case-study material, this book raises vital questions about literacy and illiteracy, and about adult education. Above all, it questions the efficacy of any literacy programme which fails to acknowledge the many ways in which uneducated and so called ‘illiterate’ people already use reading, writing and numeracy in their everyday lives.” Jenny Maybin, The Open University, Milton Keynes Annotation This book details the findings of a research project investigating the social uses of literacy in a range of contexts in South Africa. This approach treats literacy not simply as a set of technical skills learnt in formal education, but as social practices embedded in specific contexts, discourses and positions. What this means is made clear through a series of fine-grained accounts of social uses and meanings of literacy in contexts ranging from the taxi industry in Cape Town, to family farms, urban settlements and displacement sites, rural land holdings, and various sites during the 1994 elections, and among different sectors of South African society, Black, Colored and White. Since the view of literacy presented here is so dependent on context, the book provides not only descriptions of literacy practices but also rich insights into the complexity of everyday social life in contemporary South Africa at a major point of transition. It can be read as a concrete way of understanding the emergence of the New South Africa as it appears to actors on the ground, focused through attention to one central feature of contemporary life - the uses and meanings of literacy. Using fascinating and carefully documented case-study material, this book raises vital questions about literacy and illiteracy, and about adult education. Above all, it questions the efficacy of any literacy programme which fails to acknowledge the many ways in which uneducated and so called 'illiterate' people already use reading, writing and numeracy in their everyday lives. Jenny Maybin, The Open University, Milton Keynes The Social Uses of Literacy: Theory and Practice in Contemporary South Africa challenges state-driven policy and provision in South Africa around the construction of a national delivery system for adult literacy that is part of a programme for Adult Basic Education. The implication is that many people who are the target of this system will be unwilling to participate at the entry point of literacy acquisition unless a reconceptualisation of the nature of literacy use by adults is made. Using fascinating and carefully documented case-study material, this book raises vital questions about literacy and illiteracy, and about adult education. Above all, it questions the efficacy of any literacy programme which fails to acknowledge the many ways in which uneducated and so called 'illiterate' people already use reading, writing and numeracy in their everyday lives. Drawing on the theory and methods of the New Literacy Studies, this book reveals the complexity and diversity of uneducated people's uses of literacy. It raises important questions for policy makers everywhere about how adults should be taught in relation to their own experiences and needs, and about the value of mass-scale adult literacy programmes aimed at so called 'illiterates'. Section 1. Literacies At Work -- Section 2. Mediating Literacies -- Section 3. Contextualising Literacies : Policy Lessons. Edited By Mastin Prinsloo And Mignonne Breier ; Preface By Brian V. Street. Includes Bibliographical References (pages [265]-274) And Index. Mode Of Access: World Wide Web. This volume is part of a series which aims to advance insight into the multi-faceted character of written language, with special emphasis on its uses in different social and cultural settings. The book examines the acquisition and transmission of literacy in the Cape area of South Africa.