Critical Literacy,
Communication
and Interaction 1
University of Aruba
FAS: SW&D/OG&M
October 13, 2009
Unit 6
1
Framework GE3A
1.
Communication and Interaction, humans
as social beings. Sharing and Negotiating
meaning, interpretation and identity
2.
Making sense of the world and its codes.
The meaning of Literacy
3.
The verbal code, Human Language.
Discourse as means for social action,
constructing realities and persuasion
4.
Ideology, Discourse and Political
Discourse
5.
Stepping into the cultural dimension.
Intercultural communication and its
contexts
6.
New literacies for the 21 st century and
our globalizing world. New ways of
reading and what it means to be media
literate GE3B
2
Let’s summarize…

Communication process is dynamic
and symbolic

Is interactive and transactive:


Sender and receiver interaction is based
on (en)coding and decoding of messages

Messages are composed of codes

Negotiation of meaning, interpretation
and identity
Communication process is contextual
(multi-layered effect of contexts
(UNIT 4 and 5!)
3
Tip: learn the properties of
communication, this will help you
visualize the communication process

Communication is both intentional
and unintentional

Communication process is Ubiquitous
(omnipresent)

Communication process is cultural
(one specific context: the cultural
context) (UNIT 5)

Communication shapes and re-shapes
our identities (UNIT 1, 4 and 5)
4
Communication is
Symbolic


{Unit 1}Human beings are social,
they communicate and make sense of
their selves and their world through
codes (messages, ideas, conventions,
rules etc.)
{ Unit
2}Being ‘literate’ means here,
being aware of and being able to deal
with these codes (coding and decoding
process) (understanding the world
and who you are in this world)
5
Pr o p e r ties o f co d e s
Ti p : i f y o u l e a rn t h e se p r o p e rties, y o u c a n
st a r t u n d e rsta n din g w h a t i t me a n s f o r
C o mmu n ication t o b e sy mb o lic

codes are systemized (language,
sentences, words, alphabet, agreement
upon meaning of arbitrary signs: A B
etc.) (verbal/non-verbal codes)

All codes convey meaning: they are
vehicles for messages, ideas, rules
LITERACYCRITICAL LITERACY

Codes depend upon agreement amongst
their user and upon a shared
sociocultural background

All codes perform an identifiable social or
communicative function

All codes are transmittable by their
appropriate media or channels of
communication
6
7
Learning the world by
learning the word
8
Approaching Literacy

In its most basis sense refers to a
cognitive process that enables reading,
writing, speaking and listening

Is the means by which people learn to be
at home in the worlds they choose [or
find themselves in]

Refers to the consciousness of the uses
and problems of language and the ability
to express that awareness in ways
sanctioned by the culture


Language is here the code. Language in the
broadest sense of the word.
Literacy encompasses more than only the
world of language
9
Literacies include multiple kinds
of processes including the
following:

Visual literacy: the ability to understand and
interpret images, signs, pictures and nonverbal language

Media Literacy: the ability to understand and
interpret cultural messages presented by the
media, such as from TV and film

Information Technology literacy: the ability to
use, access and evaluate information and ideas
via computers

Numeracy: the ability to understand and
interpret mathematical symbols, including
reading charts and tables

Political literacy: the ability for citizens to
participate in a society’s democracy process
and government (an understanding of how
government works and of the important issues
facing society, as well as the critical thinking
skills to evaluate different points of view)
10
Literacy evolves…
new developments call
for new skills

How people use literacy is tied up
with the particular details of the
situation and that literacy events
are particular to a specific
community at a specific point in
history

Compare baby boomers, gen X,
gen Y, {gen Einstein} and what
about the gen Z?
11
Literacy in everyday
life.
1.
Literacy is a social activity and can be
best described in terms of people’s
literacy practices which they draw upon
in literacy events;
2.
People have different literacies which
they make use of, associated with
different domains of life. These
differences are increased across
different cultures or historical periods
3.
People’s literacy practices are situated
in broader social relations; social
settings and social institutions are
important
12
Ti p : A p p roa ch ing L i teracy i n t e rms o f
e v er yd ay l i fe ( social b a sis) h e lp s y o u
u n d er st an d t h e l i n k w i t h c o mmun ic ation
b e t ter
4.
Literacy is based upon a system of
symbol ]s; symbolic system for
communication. It is a way of
representing the world to others
(literacy as communication)
5.
Literacy is a symbolic system used for
representing the world to us (literacy as
thought)
6.
We have awareness, attitudes and
values with respect to literacy and these
attitudes and values guide our action
(values and awareness)
13
And…
7.
Literacy has a story. Our individual life
histories contain many literacy events
from early childhood onwards which the
present is built upon. We change, and as
children and adults are constantly
learning about literacy (individual
history: growth and development and
that of a whole culture over a longer
time period (opening of Colegio, Lago
school)
8.
Literacy events and practices have a
social history (social history ex.
Renaissance, Enlightment)
14
Critical Literacy
1.
The way texts (and visuals etc. approach
broad) and their discourses work to
represent reality and define what is
necessary for us;
2.
A sympathetic understanding of the
people who are affected (shaped) by
those discourses; (voice, voiceless,
representation)
3.
Ways we can engage with those texts
and their debates
4.
Questioning texts, reflecting, taking a
stance from the position of the passive
reader to the position of the active
reader Negotiation of meaning,
interpretation and identities!
15
C ri tica l L i t eracy
C o n tex t, I d e ologies ( sy stem o f b e liev es, s o c ial
g r o u ps, u s a n d t h e m) C u l tu r e a l l h a v e
i n flu en ce o n d i scour se
E . g . P o l itical D i scou r se

Examining meaning within texts

Considering the purpose for the text and the
composer ’s motives

Texts are not neutral, they represent
particular views, silence other points of views
and influence people’s ideas

Questioning and challenging the ways texts
have been constructed

Analyzing the power of language in
contemporary society

Emphasizing multiple readings of texts
(because people interpret texts in the light of
their own believes and values, texts will have
different meanings to different people)
Kaleidoscope!
16
And..

Having ‘you’ take a stance on issues

Providing ‘you’ with opportunities to
consider and clarify your own attitudes
and values:
{ being aware of different perspectives 
reflection negotiation of identities: who
am I, do I agree? (metaphor of room)}

Providing ‘you’ with opportunities to take
social action (e.g. writing a letter of
complaint)
17
(Critical) Literacy and
Development

Literacy as a human rightinclusion for
human development

Human benefits: self-esteem,
empowerment

Political benefits: political participation,
democracy (ethic equality, post-conflict
situations)

Cultural benefits: dealing with cultural
change, preserving cultural identities
and –diversity

Social benefits: health, reproductive
behavior, education, gender equality,
emancipation of minority groups etc.,

Economic growth, sustainability
18
The study of language
(verbal code, symbolic)

The study of language provides a
window into the workings of the
mind, and bears on issues of how the
mind represents meaning, how we
interpret and understand the world

WE DO THINGS WITH LANGUAGE

Social Actions
19
Functions of Language
1.
Referential function: conveying information
2.
Emotive function: expressing inner states
3.
Phatic function: establishing or maintaining a
channel of communication (‘Ta hasi calor awe’)
4.
Poetic function: when the choice of the form is the
essence of our message
5.
Metalinguistic function: when the language talks
about itself (e.g. The word ‘computer ’ means…)
6.
Directive function: seeking to affect the behavior of
the addressee (e.g. ‘Come back’)
7.
Contextual function: framing communication as a
particular kind (e.g. ‘Let’s start our discussion
by…’)
8.
In additional to these functions, there are
numerous others such as: requesting, offering,
apologizing, pleading, complimenting, advising,
warning etc.
20
Discourse  Doing: What? Why?
Plus ideas and attributes

Discourse as actual instances of
communication through the medium
of language

Unit of analysis

Socially constructed knowledge of
some aspect of reality
21
Ideology, Cognition,
Society & Discourse

Ideology & cognition :


Ideology & society


in terms of the social cognitions that are
shared by the members of a group
in terms of the social dimension explaining
what kind of groups, relations between
groups and institutions are involved in the
development and reproduction of ideologies
Ideology & discourse

In terms of discourse explaining how
ideologies influences our daily texts and talk
and in terms of how we understand
ideological discourse and how discourse is
involved in the reproduction of ideology in
society
22
A s ‘ sy st e ms o f b e l ieves o f so c i al g r o u p s’ ( a n d
mo v e men ts) i d e ologies ma k e se n se i n o r d e r t o
u n d e r st an d t h e w o r ld ( f r o m t h e p o i n t o f v i ew
o f t h e g ro u p ).
 Not organized in the mind in arbitrary
ways. The mind and its memory is
organized in categories. Ideologies have a
‘system’ (organization) of believes.

This system has an ‘schema-like’ nature:
it consists of a number of conventional
categories that allows social actors to
rapidly understand, build, reject or
modify an ideology

The categories that define the ideological
schema derive from the basic properties
of social groups

If ideologies underlie the social beliefs of
a group, then the identity and
identification of group member must
follow a more or less fixed pattern of
basic categories, together with practical
rules of application
23
Categories of the
ideological schema:
1.
Membership criteria: Who does (not)
belong?
2.
Typical activities: What do we do?
3.
Overall aims: What do we want?
4.
Norms and Values: What is good or bad
for us?
5.
Position: What are the relationships with
other?
6.
Resources: Who has access to our group
resources?
24
Discourse strategies:
(ideological square)
1.
Emphasize positive things about
US
2.
Emphasize negative things about
THEM
3.
De-emphasize negative things
about US
4.
De-emphasize positive things
about THEM
25
C ul ture=a n a ccu mu la ted p a ttern o f v a l ues, b e liefs, a nd
b e h a vior s, sh a re d b y a n i d e n tifiable g r o u p o f p e o p le
w i t h a c o mmo n h i st o ry a n d v e r b al a n d n o n - v erb al
mo v e men ts
26
Intercultural model
contexts:

Cultural

Micro cultural

Environmental

Perceptual

Socio-relational
27
Dimensions of Cultural
Variability
1.
Individualism-Collectivism
2.
High-low context
3.
Value orientations
4.
Power distance
5.
Uncertainty avoidance
28