Overview
Literacy is a key indicator for comparing individuals and nations in contemporary society. It is central to public debates about the nature of the public sphere, economic markets, citizenship and self-governance. Literacy and the Politics of Representation aims to uncover the constructed nature of public understandings of literacy by examining detailed examples of how literacy is represented in a range of public contexts. It looks at the ways in which knowledge about literacy is created and distributed, the location and relative power of the knowledge-makers, and examines the different semiotic resources used in such representations: images and metaphors, numerical and statistical models, and textual narratives and how they are related to one another. The book focuses on the UK from 1970 to the present, but includes a range of international comparisons and examples. In addition, exemplar chapters offer a model of analysis that can be used to deconstruct the representations of social policy issues. This book is vital reading for postgraduate students in the areas of education studies, literacy, discourse analysis and multimodality.
Full Product Details
Author: Mary Hamilton (Lancaster University, UK)
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint: Routledge
Dimensions:
Width: 15.60cm
, Height: 1.30cm
, Length: 23.40cm
Weight: 0.294kg
ISBN: 9780415686167
ISBN 10: 0415686164
Pages: 178
Publication Date: 19 July 2012
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Tertiary & Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Reviews
'Mary Hamilton brings to the project of refining our understanding of literacy and challenging simplistic assumptions, her own deeper analysis of policy, her experience of teaching and learning practices in adult literacy in the UK and also her study of popular ã media representations of literacy. Essential reading not only for those still bound up in the popular imagination about literacy but also for those who have been working in the field but can still benefit from such an account byã a seasoned writer capable of bringing together different fields, different theories, different `discourses of the imagination'.' Brian Street, Emeritus Professor, King's College London, UK
'Mary Hamilton brings to the project of refining our understanding of literacy and challenging simplistic assumptions, her own deeper analysis of policy, her experience of teaching and learning practices in adult literacy in the UK and also her study of popular media representations of literacy. Essential reading not only for those still bound up in the popular imagination about literacy but also for those who have been working in the field but can still benefit from such an account by a seasoned writer capable of bringing together different fields, different theories, different 'discourses of the imagination'.' Brian Street, Emeritus Professor, King's College London, UK
'Mary Hamilton brings to the project of refining our understanding of literacy and challenging simplistic assumptions, her own deeper analysis of policy, her experience of teaching and learning practices in adult literacy in the UK and also her study of popular media representations of literacy. Essential reading not only for those still bound up in the popular imagination about literacy but also for those who have been working in the field but can still benefit from such an account by a seasoned writer capable of bringing together different fields, different theories, different `discourses of the imagination'.' Brian Street, Emeritus Professor, King's College London, UK
'Mary Hamilton brings to the project of refining our understanding of literacy and challenging simplistic assumptions, her own deeper analysis of policy, her experience of teaching and learning practices in adult literacy in the UK and also her study of popular media representations of literacy. Essential reading not only for those still bound up in the popular imagination about literacy but also for those who have been working in the field but can still benefit from such an account by a seasoned writer capable of bringing together different fields, different theories, different ‘discourses of the imagination’.' Brian Street, Emeritus Professor, King's College London, UK
Author Information
Mary Hamilton is Professor of Adult Learning and Literacy in the Department of Educational Research, Lancaster University, U.K; Associate Director of the Lancaster Literacy Research Centre and a founder member of the Research and Practice in Adult Literacy (RaPAL) network. She researches, publishes and teaches in the field of literacy Studies, discourse, policy and change.
