Preview

Literacy, Technology, and the Social Self

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
880 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Literacy, Technology, and the Social Self
Literacy, Technology, and The Social Self
Introduction
The way we define who we are is a direct result of what we know. "Literacy reflects contradictions and complexities in how we understand ourselves and construct roles for ourselves through language in that world. X." Since the arrival of the Feed in ____, emphasis on the individual has become less central in our lives. This lack of focus has led to relationships that are left vulnerable and weakened. In this section we will be considering the impact of the decline in literacy on the "Social Self." In basic terms, the Social Self is defined as how an individual interacts with the social world presented to him/her and how he/she approaches the formation of relationships.

Individualism All throughout history, individualism has been key to the advancement of humanity including - most importantly – the spreading of freedom. The world we live in has been changed greatly through the individual 's critical understanding of literacy. The vigilant and knowledgeable use of the written word is what carries one 's claims to the world. "Emancipatory literacy is a necessary foundation for cultural action and freedom, a central aspect of what it means to be a self & socially composed agent. X" This type of literature is used to empower the people who use it. It involves engaging in acts of writing and reading that are used to liberate humanity. How can anything be changed without the use of this emancipatory literacy? "We must write as if our lives depended on it. X" Literacy gives a voice to our ideas, and creates a space for us in the world to work toward change and to reflect on that change so that it is not forgotten. "A Lesson Before Dying" is a novel by Ernest J. Gaines. It encompasses the theory of emancipatory literacy through its character Jefferson. A young black prisoner on death row, Jefferson transforms the racist mind of a white prison guard, Paul, mostly through his demeanor while in prison.



Cited: Ernest J. Gaines. A Lesson Before Dying. 1993. Vintage Contemporaries. New York. Mark Warschauer. Electronic Literacies: Language, Culture, and Power in Online Education. 1999. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Mahwah, New Jersey. Catherine Snow, Wendy Barnes, Jean Chandler, Irene Goodman, Lowry Hemphill. Unfulfilled Expectations: Home and School Influences on Literacy. 1991. Harvard University Press. Cambridge, Massachusetts. Robert P. Yagelski. Literacy Matters: Writing and Reading the Social Self. 2000. Teachers College Press. New York.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the article, “Literacy Practices,” the authors, David Barton, and Mary Hamilton analyze literacy on not just a level of reading, and writing but how it is implemented, used, and affected by our daily lives. The authors see literacy as more of a social practice than just an ability that is gained. Barton and Hamilton use several propositions as a framework to build their argument.…

    • 315 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    It is the tale of a young black man on death row who gains dignity and self-awareness from a rural teacher who visits him daily in prison. This book exemplifies education and learning in different ways. In one way, the prisoner learns how to express his feelings and write them down while in prison. Another way the theme of education is shown is that the prisoner also learns how to compose himself with courage and dignity. The most important way that this book shares the theme of education is how Ernest Gaines educates all of the readers that all humans ( no matter their race) are equal and should be treated that way. Being able to exemplify the many different ways there are to introduce the theme of knowledge into his novels was one of Gaines’s strengths. However, he was also known to have included some sub themes that would compliment his main theme of…

    • 915 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A good novel entertains the reader. An excellent novel entertains and enlightens the reader. Set in a Cajun community in the late 1940’s, A Lesson Before Dying is a heart-warming tale of injustice, acceptance and redemption. A Lesson Before Dying by Earnest J. Gaines is an excellent novel. Not only does Gaines inform the reader, he entertains will his effective storytelling. His use of symbolism, voice and stylistic devices keeps the reader enticed to the very last page.…

    • 975 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    "A Lesson Before Dying" by Ernest J. Gaines, is about a man who is being persecuted for a crime that he did not commit. Jefferson was at the wrong place at the wrong time and now is being put on trial for the murder of three men. Gaines describes Jefferson was an innocent bystander who did nothing wrong, but because he is poor black man no one will believe him. He is tried and convicted of murder and was sentenced to death. Gaines then introduces Grant Wiggins into the story who is an educated man that teaches on a…

    • 728 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Literacy is not only represented by the texts in the environment, how those texts came to be, who is using them, and how they are being used, but is also represented by the feelings, beliefs, and attitudes about those texts by the members of that community (Barton, 1994). Included in these unobservable aspects of literacy practices are the mental construction, sense-making, purpose-setting, and valuing that goes on inside the head that is also defining of literacy practices. Namely, the ways in which people think about literacy, their awareness of it, their constructions of it, how they talk about it, and how they make sense of it are all indicative of the literacy practices of a society. The conceptions people hold about the reading and writing process as they are engaged in literacy events is just as important as the event itself (Barton,…

    • 2148 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    A Lesson before Dying is a memorable novel, set in Bayone, Louisiana in the 1940’s, about an uneducated, illiterate black man, Jefferson, who is falsely accused of murder and sentenced to death. While on trial, his defense attorney likened him to a hog, calling him nothing more than a fool and a cornered animal. Jefferson’s godmother wants him to become a man before he dies. She persuades two men, Grant Wiggins and Reverend Ambrose, to visit with Jefferson and teach him what it means to be a man. While both men desire the same outcome, they disagree about what it means to be an educated man. Grant believes that his college degree gives him all the knowledge he needs. However, Reverend Ambrose…

    • 787 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Later in the child's life, he learns to play educational games such as scrabble and other such word games. These are more advanced steps in becoming a literate member of society. Later when the child gains access into a school, he will further learn about how to read and write, but with a swift head start and a positive outlook. The essay argues that in a public school, children may be discouraged about their reading and writing skills, but that in their Amish society, it is viewed as a more positive thing.…

    • 393 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Literacy is a fundamental skill that all people, regardless of race or social class, need to develop in order to convey ideas and communicate them intellectually. But two hundred years ago, learning to read and write was not a privilege. During this time, and even today, many factors play a role to determine the difficulty of reaching literacy, such as the time period a person lives in and where he is raised, the color of his skin, and even what determines or denies his basic rights as a human being can restrict his education. Both Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X—African American men who are raised in societies where white men are predominant and where it is challenging for them to find a pathway to education if it is allowed in the first…

    • 1353 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Looking at two essays, “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and me” by Sherman Alexie, and “Learning to Read and Write” by Frederick Douglass, comparisons between the two are greatly visible. Both of these stories take an in depth look at these two young men’s lives, as we focus on what these stories are trying to tell, and what message(s) are trying to get across. Not only do these two authors share similarities in upbringing, but they also share the same determination when it comes to educating themselves on their own and proving to others that ignorance truly is bliss.…

    • 1279 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Remember when we used to sing the alphabet song, letters resonate in our ears for the entire day. With those letters, we learned how to express ourselves and understand the idea of someone without actually hearing from them in person. Today, I am able to write this essay because I valued my education since I started to sing that song. Literacy is the most powerful weapon for a human being because it allows us to see the world not just from our own perspective but also from other people’s as well. There are millions of people like me who are able to make a difference in their lives under the light of literacy.…

    • 1102 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    They said about literacy that literacy is one of the engines to get money or profit, and to compete advantages. In addition, people’s literacy skills have less growing in their economy values because of changing in the literacy standers with every new generation of learners.…

    • 1132 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Literacy Literacy, as we all know is the ability that we have to read and write that includes the capacity that we have to use and learn a language as well as any other things like understanding how to communicate. It is also the most important structure that our parents teach us, without it we would not be able to communicate with each other, we would not be able to learn new skills, such as learning how to use a computer, how to use internet, how to speak properly, without it the world would not be what it is right now, without it we would not be able to achieve our goals. Literacy can be found in newspaper, in books, in articles, in the internet, in the way we socialize with each other, it can be found almost everywhere because is something…

    • 993 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout my life I haven’t learned too much about literature. It wasn’t until high school I thought highly of literature, in a sense I would have to be literate in order to succeed. As I proceed through life I realize how important literature is, not only to myself but to others. In “The Lonely Good Company of Books”, Richard Rodriguez explains how his parents did not read to him, and how he became literate. I could relate to Richard’s situation because I wasn’t read to much either. Though reading and writing is a necessity and students should learn literature at a young age, it can also be entertaining and create imagination. A growing problem in society is the inability to be literate at a young age.…

    • 1113 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In my personal literacy narrative, I have chosen to include the most important literacy sponsors that have had influenced my growth as a reader over the years. I would like to dwell on the positive impact of my parents, books and educational institutions on my personal literacy. It goes without saying that each of the aforementioned factors has had an impact on my development as a literate person to certain extent. At the same time, my interaction with people and books as the literacy sponsors is still of high significance to me now. My literacy sponsors taught me the necessities of life and helped me to become more literate. Thanks to the positive impact of my literacy sponsors, education and self-development…

    • 829 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    My Literacy Experience

    • 1038 Words
    • 5 Pages

    My experiences with literacy had a great deal of variation throughout my middle and high school years. When it comes to reading I have found that I greatly enjoying reading for entertainment but when I am forced to read something for scholastic value I often struggle to find the drive to actually read it and will take me twice as long actually comprehend what I have just read. When it comes to writing, I’ve always felt like it is one of the areas in which I find the least enjoyable and have the biggest difficulty in. Although I do not consider myself I terrible writer I always struggle finding the right words. When it comes to remembering my time in middle and high school, writing just seemed like another part of my life.…

    • 1038 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics