Gee: What is Literacy?

In order to teach my future young scholars about any form of literacy, I must first explore what that means and provide examples to establish connections. We, that are literate, have various forms of discourse communities we belong to, beyond the primary literacy our early, usually home, life provides for us.


James Paul Gee explains 5 common opinions that have been expressed about the understanding of discourse:
  • Discourses are inherently "ideological"
    ex. The language skills we learned at home are changed through our learning experiences, in and outside of schools. For instance, instead of using proper names for human body parts, one may start to use the slang terms peers and friends use.
  •  Discourses are resistant to internal criticism and self-scrutiny
    ex. Outside influences will not allow the mind to criticize without bias.
  • Discourse-defined positions from which to speak and behave are not, however, just defined internal to a discourse, but also as standpoints taken up by the discourse in its relation to other, ultimately opposing, discourses.
    ex. This statement reminds me of Planned Parenthood responding to threats of reduced and eliminated funding, due to a group of peoples' religious beliefs and political affiliations.
  • Any discourse concerns itself with certain objects and puts forward certain concepts, viewpoints and values at the expense of others.
    ex. The debate between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois is an example, as the two did not agree on the educational approach that African Americans should follow.
  • Discourses are intimately related to the distribution of social power and hierarchical structure in society.
    ex. The order in which educational systems operate. Start with the school district down, to administrators, to educators.
    Although these statements are debatable different theories are fun to discuss with students, in the hopes that they will be encouraged to think about the information, analyze and evaluate it while forming their own opinion.

    Source/article link - http://moormangb.ced.appstate.edu/5200_f10/unit1/gee_lit.pdf

    Here are the discourse communities that I belong to:

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