Ooops. We forgot to celebrate today in class! But I think that our healthy discussion today–on the uses of literacy as liberator and as weapon, the fuzzy distinction between oral and literate practices, the problem with claiming the phonetic alphabet as superior to others, and the ways that writing culture online and in textbooks allows people to shift history as Goody and Watt claim oral cultures do–counts as a celebration. Next time someone should bring cupcakes though.
Here’s coverage from the UN News Centre and a statement from the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on International Literacy Day, which is focused on empowering women through literacy.
I find it interesting how unproblematic the assertion of “illiterates” is there. But then, as Gee says, I also have a lot of sympathy for the “aspirin bottle problem.” Basic reading and writing skills can be immensely beneficial to the daily lives of women everywhere. By questioning definitions of “illiteracy,” I’m certainly not arguing against education for girls and young women.
Still, I have mixed feelings about this: “All evidence shows that investment in literacy for women yields high development dividends.”
What do you think?