Grassroots Literacy

Writing, Identity and Voice in Central Africa

By: Jan Blommaert

Write A Review

Hardcover | 1 July 2008 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Hardcover
236 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
23.4 x 15.6 x 1.42

Hardcover

$537.75

or 4 interest-free payments of $134.44 with

Ships in 10 to 15 business days

What effect has globalization had on our understanding of literacy? Grassroots Literacy seeks to address the relationship between globalization and the widening gap between 'grassroots' literacies, or writings from ordinary people and local communities, and 'elite' literacies. Displaced from their original context to elite literacy environments in the form of letters, police declarations and pieces of creative writing, 'grassroots' literacies are unsurprisingly easily disqualified, either as 'bad' forms of literacy, or as messages that fail to be understood. Through close analysis of two unique, handwritten documents from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Jan Blommaert considers how 'grassroots' literacy in the Third World develops outside the literacy-saturated environments of the developed world. In examining these documents produced by socially and economically marginalized writers Blommaert demonstrates how literacy environments should be understood as relatively autonomous systems. GrassrootsLiteracy will be key reading for students of language and literacy studies as well as an invaluable resource for anyone with an interest in understanding the implications of globalization on local literacy practices. Jan Blommaert is Distinguished Professor of Linguistic Anthropology at the University of Jyv'žskyl'ž, Finland, as well as Professor of Linguistic Anthropology at Tilburg University. His publications include Debating Diversity (co-author, Routledge, 1998), Language Ideological Debates (editor, 1999) and Discourse: A Critical Introduction (author, 2005).

Shipping

	Standard Shipping	Express Shipping
Metro postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Regional postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Rural postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95

Orders over $79.00 qualify for free shipping.

How to return your order

At Booktopia, we offer hassle-free returns in accordance with our returns policy. If you wish to return an item, please get in touch with Booktopia Customer Care.

Additional postage charges may be applicable.