Re: [xmca] Re: literacy? and its meanings

[Luisa Aires <laires11@gmail.com>]

Mike

Thinking about these issues is a very good holidays programme ;-)

I must “re-visit” Psychology of Literacy and the concept of literacy
practices.



Luísa


2009/12/29 mike cole <lchcmike@gmail.com>

> Somehow the discussion of conceptions of literacy and its relation to
> inscriptions that represent spoken language (visually, or tactilely)
> got off track, probably mea culpa. I get very nervous when the meanings of
> literacy as ability to interpret and deploy codes in different media and
> mixtures of media are conflated with something like "knowledge in a
> domain."
> Literacy as I understand it requires
> the combination of both, and of course in relevant social practices.
>
> Attached is an article from 2005 Annual Review of Applied Linguistics on
> the
> topic of PRINT literacy. Upon request I can post (and I am certain dozens
> of
> others can post) research on literacies
> in other domains, in my case, film literacy.
>
> With respect to the importance of literacy practices. The following
> characterization of work done in the late 1970's may be relevant. It is
> from
> the longer article attached so that those not interested can hit delete and
> get on with their holidays!!
>
> Scribner and Cole’s (1981) work also persuasively introduced the concept of
> literacy practices. Rather than seeing literacy as a set of portable,
> decontextualized information processing skills which individuals applied,
> Scribner and Cole reframed literacy as a set of socially organized
> practices
> (conceptually parallel to religious
> practices, childrearing practices, etc.) in which individuals engaged.
>
> mike
>
>
> On Tue, Dec 29, 2009 at 4:06 AM, Luisa Aires <laires11@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Jay
> > I couldn’t agree with you more.* *I think that when we talk about
> literacy
> > -
> > a cultural construct also – we must take into account the different
> > contexts, internationalities, agents that use it.
> >
> >
> > I am trying to develop some strategies to promote digital literacy
> (taking
> > into account Mike, Olga and Colbs´ perspectives in 5thDimension) and I
> > privilege Warschauer´s definition about literacy - “ literacy is
> understood
> > as a set of social practices”. What do you think about this point of
> > view*?*
> >
> > * *
> > Finally: I’m fascinated with this discussion thread- a mature way to
> > co-construct knowledge.
> >
> > Luísa
> > (Universidade Aberta, PT)
> >
> > 2009/12/29 Jay Lemke <jaylemke@umich.edu>
> >
> > > Mike,
> > >
> > > I am sure that some people have thought about dumping Print Literacy in
> > > favor of more modern literacies. I once reviewed an actually rather
> > > brilliant book by Mihai Nadin called the Civilization of Illiteracy (by
> > > which he meant what I would call Post-Literacy), and the argument was
> > that
> > > we were already post-literate in that it is really the wide range of
> > > semiotic literacies of all kinds that matters today, and within that
> > print
> > > is just one component part and no longer The Literacy as it may have
> been
> > in
> > > earlier times.
> > >
> > > I also once contributed to a book about media literacies in a
> > > "post-typographical" world, the editors choice of term, by which they
> > meant
> > > something similar. And one of my most influential articles presents the
> > > basic thesis that scientific discourse was never a purely
> verbal-textual
> > > discourse, but by the nature of its objects of study, was always
> > essentially
> > > multi-modal (verbal-visual-mathematical at least). The key idea here is
> > that
> > > "print" (i.e. verbal text) cannot stand alone; that to get the meaning,
> > you
> > > need to integrate across the modalities (language, image, mathematics).
> > >
> > > Now maybe print never did really stand on its own. Jim Gee has argued
> for
> > > example that in making meaning with purely verbal text we still
> envision
> > > images and run little "movies" in our heads in the process of
> > disambiguating
> > > meanings and contextualizing what we are "reading". But I think we know
> > that
> > > historically there was a period when Print tried to stand on its own,
> and
> > > that claims have been made for a long time, and very successfully, that
> > it
> > > can and even should stand on its own. Personally, I think that Gee is
> > mostly
> > > right in principle, contextualizing linguistic meaning does generally
> > > involve some nonlinguistic meaning resources, present or imagined, but
> > that
> > > some kinds of very abstract discourse rely mostly on other texts for
> > their
> > > contextualization, trying to create a closed world of linguistic
> meaning.
> > > Unfortunately, I also believe that the resulting discourses become
> > un-moored
> > > from experiential reality and even from the virtual reality of imagined
> > > worlds.
> > >
> > > As I wrote before, every time I've tried to get a useful and believable
> > > definition of literacy, starting from print literacy, I've found myself
> > > winding up with something pan-semiotic. That doesn't mean that
> > analytically
> > > separable semiotic resource systems, like language, and technologies,
> > like
> > > "printed" verbal text (on Kindle or on kindling) don't have their own
> > > specialized functional affordances which are not easily substituted by
> > those
> > > of other modalities. The "mot juste", the synthetic diagram, the
> > > mathematical-algebraic derivation, the engaging narrative ... they are
> > all
> > > irreplaceable resources as far as I'm concerned.
> > >
> > > But none of them are also the last word in doing what they do. Defined
> > > functionally, I think we more generally find that multimodal solutions
> to
> > > functional tasks can work better and are often already, implicitly at
> > work
> > > in what appear to be mono-modal works.
> > >
> > > JAY.
> > >
> > > PS. I agree that there is no clear-cut distinction among knowledge
> > > literacies and semiotic resource literacies, because knowledge is
> itself
> > a
> > > resource in meaning-making (productive and interpretive), and even
> > moreso,
> > > when we consider intertextual systems as resources, or narratives as
> > > resources. I once wrote a piece about this which no one seemed to
> > > understand, and I am not sure I understood it either. It involves
> > > re-conceptualizing knowledge as more like a discursive resource, and
> > > re-conceptualizing semiotic resource systems so that they can be more
> > > syntagmatic rather than, as canonically, primarily or exclusively
> > > paradigmatic.  It may be our intuitive sense of this that leads us to
> the
> > > metaphorical range we have for the term "literacy".
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Jay Lemke
> > > Professor (Adjunct, 2009-2010)
> > > Educational Studies
> > > University of Michigan
> > > Ann Arbor, MI 48109
> > > www.umich.edu/~jaylemke <http://www.umich.edu/%7Ejaylemke<http://www.umich.edu/~jaylemke>
> >
> > >
> > > Visiting Scholar
> > > Laboratory for Comparative Human Communication
> > > University of California -- San Diego
> > > La Jolla, CA
> > > USA 92093
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
>  > >  On Dec 22, 2009, at 4:56 PM, mike cole wrote:
> > >
> > > > Thanks for the comments, Larry. My comment was that LCHC had
> > > > a near-death experience. Its past, but with UC experiencing its own
> > > > near-death experience, no harm in practicing "nearer my lord to
> thee--
> > > > catchy tune. I see that Steve G has posted a 25 year old account of
> the
> > > lab
> > > > up to that time. Incomplete and audience-driven as that account was,
> > some
> > > > relevant material-- thanks for pointing it out, Steve. There is also,
> > at
> > > the
> > > > lchc publications link on the home page, a bunch of collective
> articles
> > > over
> > > > the year. New one coming along about now.
> > > >
> > > > About literacy and narrative and interpretation. I guess there are
> just
> > a
> > > > whole lot of views of how to think about this issue. For example, in
> > > Liberia
> > > > the elder men had a special form of discourse,
> > > > meant, so far as i understand, to mystify others, signal their own
> > > > power and perhaps assess the quality of the palm wine. I suppose one
> > > could
> > > > say that they were literate in deep Kpelle. For sure, becoming
> literate
> > > in
> > > > English had its downside; few of those I knew at the time died of
> > > "natural"
> > > > causes, unless we want to count genocide as a natural cause among
> > humans.
> > > >
> > > > I would be interested if anyone would like to defend the idea that
> its
> > > time
> > > > to jettison print literacy. What the heck, now that we have computer
> > > > literacy and film literacy and health literacy and financial literacy
> > and
> > > > xmca literacy, why bother with fusty old print?
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Myself, i have this really arcane idea that the symbolic resources of
> > > print
> > > > literacy and numeracy, you know, written records and musical
> notations
> > > and
> > > > that old stuff, have some properties that just might be foundational
> to
> > > > Youtube and twitter (maybe the latter is just parasitic). But, since,
> > as
> > > > Latour has noted, we never have been modern, hard to be sure. May all
> > we
> > > > need to be able to do is talk the talk. The walk will come courtesy
> of
> > > > Rupert Murdoch?
> > > >
> > > > Sure enough to think about.
> > > >
> > > > :-)
> > > >
> > > > mike
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > On Tue, Dec 22, 2009 at 10:46 AM, Larry Purss <lpurss@shaw.ca>
> wrote:
> > > >
> > > >>     Mike
> > > >> Your framework is very helpful so we can talk to each other about
> > > literacy.
> > > >> The ability to read and write is the most common meaning to
> understand
> > > >> literacy.
> > > >> The concept of literacy as learning particular discourses or
> subjects
> > is
> > > >> certainly the way postmodernism is framing literacy.
> > > >>
> > > >> I am also curious how these various conceptions of literacy are
> > specific
> > > >> instances of Bruner's fundamental notions of narrative structures as
> > one
> > > of
> > > >> the ways we mediate actions/interpretations through codes
> > > >> Your example in the phylogeny article where Japanese mothers refocus
> > the
> > > >> triadic communication of self, other, object to re-orient towards
> > > (m)other
> > > >> while American mothers re-orient triadic communication towards the
> > > object I
> > > >> believe has profound implications for the narrative stories we
> compose
> > > and
> > > >> the psychological sense of self and intrapsychic experience of inner
> > and
> > > >> outer as cultural constructions.
> > > >> If we don't want to conflate this form of interpretive activity with
> > > >> literacy we can recognize that the more particular types of  subject
> > > >> discourses are examples of the more abstract term narratives (as
> > Bruner
> > > uses
> > > >> the term)
> > > >> Is Bruner's use of the term narrative similar to the notion of
> > > hermeneutics
> > > >> as fundamentally an interpretive act?
> > > >>
> > > >> Mike
> > > >> I also want to draw attention to the term "meso" as an intermediate
> > term
> > > >> between micro and macro.  I consider architecture to be a particular
> > and
> > > >> profound example of human artifacts which express human
> > > >> ideality (Bruner's "Possible Worlds")  When you mention that LCHC is
> > on
> > > life
> > > >> support I wonder and reflect (I love the term "reverie") on how LCHC
> > has
> > > >> evolved for the last 40 years and that architecture as shared space
> > (or
> > > >> place) was foundational to its existence..  Architecture is a
> > > >> crystallization of reverie, artifacts, and social relations.  To
> > > understand
> > > >> the historical impact of LCHC at the meso level is central to
> > reflecting
> > > on
> > > >> next steps.
> > > >> I don't know the politics of how LCHC was created and was able to
> > > continue
> > > >> throughout the following decades.  I also don't know the current
> > forces
> > > >> aligned against the vision of LCHC.  However I personally believe
> the
> > > >> narrative power of LCHC and the impact it has had on pedagogy,
> > > psychology,
> > > >> communications, anthropology, cultural studies and other literate
> > > discourses
> > > >> is profound and can be articulated.  As an alternative narrative in
> > the
> > > >> current cultural wars it may be possible to project this vision into
> > the
> > > >> mass media and for LCHC to be recognized as a center of excellence
> as
> > > >> Obama searches for new models.
> > > >>
> > > >> Looking to the future and ways to support the continuity of LCHC I
> > > wonder
> > > >> if there is a continued need for reverie and considerations of
> action
> > > not at
> > > >> the individual level but rather at the meso level of architecture
> and
> > > >> location in space (place). I think about how other people who have a
> > > shared
> > > >> vision construct places (ie institutes) and then I think of how many
> > > >> people are promoting a relational paradigm shift.   I do
> > > >> wonder if  alternative narratives can emerge from private reverie
> and
> > be
> > > >> located in shared spaces (places) at the meso level.  It is the
> level
> > of
> > > >> intermediate community (Robert Nisbet) where cultural leverage can
> be
> > > >> applied AND SUSTAINED.
> > > >>  LCHC is living proof of this, as is CHAT which is in virtual shared
> > > >> space.  Ideality when shared and acted upon to create architecture
> > which
> > > is
> > > >> inhabited has the power to counter reactionary narratives.
> > > >>
> > > >> I get inspiration for this view of the possible worlds created from
> > > >> narrative from a book called "Common Fire:  Leading Lives of
> > Commitment
> > > in a
> > > >> Complex World" by L. Daloz, C. Keen, J. Keen, and S. Parks. (1996)
>  It
> > > is an
> > > >> anthology of the biographies of  inspired people acting on their
> > visions
> > > to
> > > >> try to create a "new Commons" in a complex world.
> > > >> Larry
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >> ----- Original Message -----
> > > >> From: mike cole <lchcmike@gmail.com>
> > > >> Date: Tuesday, December 22, 2009 7:01 am
> > > >> Subject: Re: [xmca] Fwd: Visual literacy? Surf an art museum -
> > Lifestyle
> > > -
> > > >> SignOnSanDiego.com
> > > >> To: "Duvall, Emily" <emily@uidaho.edu>
> > > >> Cc: "eXtended Mind, Culture,Activity" <xmca@weber.ucsd.edu>
> > > >>
> > > >>> Fuller references, Emily? It would be helpful.
> > > >>>
> > > >>> In general, in discussing this topic, I find it helpful to keep
> > > >>> in mind
> > > >>> three inter-twined conceptions of literacy in discussion of it
> > > >>> that lead to
> > > >>> confusion:
> > > >>> 1. the quality or state of being literate, esp. the ability to
> > > >>> read and
> > > >>> write.  2. possession of education: to question someone's
> > > >>> literacy.  3. a
> > > >>> person's knowledge of a particular subject or field: to acquire
> > > >>> computerliteracy.
> > > >>>
> > > >>> To me what is significant is the (perhaps necessary, see Larry's
> > > >>> remarks)conflation of being able to mediate
> > > >>> action/interpretation through a code
> > > >>> like kanji and knowledge about some topic.
> > > >>>
> > > >>> Forgetting this issue leads to people speaking past each other
> > > >>> with respect
> > > >>> to, e.g. computer literacy.
> > > >>> mike
> > > >>>
> > > >>>
> > > >>> On Mon, Dec 21, 2009 at 5:39 PM, Duvall, Emily
> > > >>> <emily@uidaho.edu> wrote:
> > > >>>
> > > >>>> One of the more interesting experiences I have had is when I was
> > > >>>> preparing to teach a course on Visual/ Critical Literacy:
> > > >>> Using Picture
> > > >>>> Books, Comics, Graphic Novels, Anime, and Film in the
> > > >>> Classroom. I sat
> > > >>>> down with vol 1 of Bone and began to read. I ignored the
> > > >>> pictures and
> > > >>>> read the text. Zipping along, I realized (a) I didn't know
> > > >>> what was
> > > >>>> going on, and (b) I was bored. I went back and spent time with the
> > > >>>> entire text and am now thoroughly addicted. It really depends
> > > >>> on the way
> > > >>>> the pictures are used... in tandem, as conjoined text; as the
> front
> > > >>>> runner (as in children's writing where the pictures are the
> > > >>> important> aspect a story); or an add-in (as in children's later
> > > >>> writing when
> > > >>>> pictures illustrate, but don't really tell us much... they
> > > >>> fill up time
> > > >>>> in a classroom... "go back and illustrate"). Some texts, like The
> > > >>>> Invention of Hugo Cabret, weave words and pictures and you
> > > >>> need to read
> > > >>>> them both.
> > > >>>> I highly recommend Molly Bang's theoretical work (sorry if I am
> > > >>>> repeating anything already said, I'm jumping in)to really dig
> deeply
> > > >>>> into the pictures; her children's books are interesting as
> > > >>> well. Anthony
> > > >>>> Browne has some pretty amazing children's books...they are
> > > >>> edgy and
> > > >>>> post-modern at times.
> > > >>>>
> > > >>>> Meanwhile I have a doc student who is working on financial
> > > >>> literacy...> there are some fundamental elements of a literacy
> > > >>> that ring across
> > > >>>> domains it seems... like discourse, eh?
> > > >>>> ~em
> > > >>>>
> > > >>>>
> > > >>>>
> > > >>>> -----Original Message-----
> > > >>>> From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu [mailto:xmca-
> > > >>> bounces@weber.ucsd.edu]> On Behalf Of mike cole
> > > >>>> Sent: Monday, December 21, 2009 5:05 PM
> > > >>>> To: Jenna McWilliams
> > > >>>> Cc: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
> > > >>>> Subject: Re: [xmca] Fwd: Visual literacy? Surf an art museum -
> > > >>> Lifestyle> - SignOnSanDiego.com
> > > >>>>
> > > >>>> No doubt, Jenna.  And forms like Youtube allow for users
> > > >>> to be producers
> > > >>>> in
> > > >>>> a big way. But I see no need to knock museums and
> > > >>>> the pleasures of "reading" paintings that have endured over a
> > > >>> long time!
> > > >>>> (The cost can be pretty steep these days though).
> > > >>>>
> > > >>>> The "learning to see" theme runs through a lot of CHAT-related
> > > >>> work, and
> > > >>>> seems an endless source of insights.
> > > >>>>
> > > >>>> One way I find that i can learn a lot about paintings is by doing
> > > >>>> jig-saw
> > > >>>> puzzles. Jackson Pollock seemed a total fraud to me until i
> > > >>> had, with
> > > >>>> lots
> > > >>>> of friendly gossipy help, done a quite complex puzzle of one
> > > >>> of his big
> > > >>>> canvases. Now jig-saw puzzles require their own
> > > >>>> form of visual literacy, but what was amazing (a Klimpt also
> > > >>> provided a
> > > >>>> similar experience) was that I actually began to see nuances
> > > >>> in the
> > > >>>> paintings that i had simply never seen before. And once seen, the
> > > >>>> ability to
> > > >>>> see more deeply, at least for the given painting (after all
> > > >>>> generalization
> > > >>>> of the skill is a huge undertaking!)
> > > >>>> it sticks with you along with the belief of the possibility
> > > >>> that, say,
> > > >>>> a Russian 18th century icon may contain the potential for visual
> > > >>>> experiences
> > > >>>> that my naive eye, loving the combination of colors and
> > > >>> shapes, could
> > > >>>> not
> > > >>>> see.
> > > >>>>
> > > >>>> I hear what you are saying that I am seeing.
> > > >>>> :-)
> > > >>>> mike
> > > >>>>
> > > >>>> PS. Have you met Etienne Pelaprat, a great grad student here at
> > > >>>> UCSD, formerly in cogsci but completing degree in Comm, who
> > > >>> has moved to
> > > >>>> your fair city? If not, you should. He is rumored to be the
> sometime
> > > >>>> savior
> > > >>>> of xmca through his technical skills.
> > > >>>>
> > > >>>> On Mon, Dec 21, 2009 at 4:25 PM, Jenna McWilliams
> > > >>>> <jenmcwil@umail.iu.edu>wrote:
> > > >>>>
> > > >>>>> Mike, you write:
> > > >>>>> "I managed a D+ in my one obligatory art producing class in
> > > >>> college (a
> > > >>>> work
> > > >>>>> later exhibited, by some really odd
> > > >>>>> error, in a show of student art which makes one wonder at the
> > > >>>> judgments
> > > >>>>> involved on either side of the
> > > >>>>> process!). I am a hopeless plastic arts producer. But not
> entirely
> > > >>>>> illiterate as a reader, finder of meanings."
> > > >>>>>
> > > >>>>> It's fair enough to argue that reading and writing are not
> > > >>> equivalent> forms
> > > >>>>> of literacy. But in this crazy multimodal culture of ours, where
> > > >>>> reading and
> > > >>>>> writing both require adeptness with design proficiencies
> (remember
> > > >>>> that even
> > > >>>>> the text we read on the screen is a digital product--the
> > > >>> 'translation'> of
> > > >>>>> code into a specifically designed visual format that we can
> > > >>>> interpret), what
> > > >>>>> we call "visual literacy" is increasingly an essential
> > > >>> component of
> > > >>>> BOTH
> > > >>>>> reading and writing. Visual literacy goes far beyond what we
> > > >>> learned> in art
> > > >>>>> class--the color wheel and all that.
> > > >>>>>
> > > >>>>> In fact, it seems a little strange to link visual literacy to
> > > >>>> museumgoing.
> > > >>>>> I bombed art class right along with the best of them, and
> > > >>> success in
> > > >>>> art
> > > >>>>> class still wouldn't have prepared me to engage in the sorts of
> > > >>>>> communications platforms that have become the most
> > > >>> significant message
> > > >>>>> delivery systems. Indeed, design and visual literacy (or
> > > >>> whatever you
> > > >>>> want
> > > >>>>> to call them) skills are so embedded in communication
> > > >>> platforms that I
> > > >>>> find
> > > >>>>> myself making design decisions without a thought (as when I
> > > >>>> re-formatted the
> > > >>>>> chunk I quoted from the previous email in this thread,
> > > >>> because when I
> > > >>>> pasted
> > > >>>>> it in the line breaks got all funky--distracting for the
> > > >>> reader!). I
> > > >>>> don't
> > > >>>>> know if the fact that visual literacy (or whatever you want
> > > >>> to call
> > > >>>> it) is
> > > >>>>> embedded within reading and writing literacy practices
> > > >>> strengthens or
> > > >>>> weaken
> > > >>>>> the case for calling it a form of literacy; I only know that
> > > >>> it's both
> > > >>>>> important and different enough from reading and writing
> > > >>> skills to
> > > >>>> deserve
> > > >>>>> its own label, if only so we know how to talk about it.
> > > >>>>>
> > > >>>>> visually,
> > > >>>>> jenna
> > > >>>>>
> > > >>>>>
> > > >>>>> ~~
> > > >>>>>
> > > >>>>> Jenna McWilliams
> > > >>>>> Learning Sciences Program, Indiana University
> > > >>>>> ~
> > > >>>>> http://jennamcwilliams.blogspot.com
> > > >>>>> http://remediatingassessment.blogspot.com
> > > >>>>> ~
> > > >>>>> jenmcwil@indiana.edu
> > > >>>>> jennamcjenna@gmail.com
> > > >>>>>
> > > >>>>>
> > > >>>>>
> > > >>>>>
> > > >>>>>
> > > >>>>> On Dec 21, 2009, at 7:06 PM, mike cole wrote:
> > > >>>>>
> > > >>>>> The addition of production to definitions of literacy
> > > >>> is always a
> > > >>>> good
> > > >>>>>> move
> > > >>>>>> in my view, Jay. Reading is not equivalent to writing. In
> > > >>> the case of
> > > >>>>>> visual
> > > >>>>>> literacy and museum art, it seems like what is being
> > > >>> referred to is
> > > >>>> the
> > > >>>>>> reading half. At least i hope so. I managed a D+ in my one
> > > >>> obligatory> art
> > > >>>>>> producing class in college (a work later exhibited, by some
> > > >>> really> odd
> > > >>>>>> error, in a show of student art which makes one wonder at the
> > > >>>> judgments
> > > >>>>>> involved on either side of the
> > > >>>>>> process!). I am a hopeless plastic arts producer. But not
> > > >>> entirely> >> illiterate as a reader, finder of meanings.
> > > >>>>>>
> > > >>>>>> There is, a few blocks from you apartment, a show at the SD
> > > >>> Museum of
> > > >>>>>> Contemporary Art by Tera Donavan. I think you will find it as
> > > >>>> fascinating
> > > >>>>>> as
> > > >>>>>> I did. I plan to take the family during their visit.
> > > >>> Donovan take
> > > >>>> everyday
> > > >>>>>> objects (tar paper, straws, cups, and more) and creates
> > > >>> installations> with
> > > >>>>>> thousand of only one object aggregated in the most
> > > >>> fantastic ways.
> > > >>>> She
> > > >>>>>> states her goal as wanting to explore the properties of
> > > >>> objects seens
> > > >>>> as
> > > >>>>>> parts of very large populations rather than as individual
> > > >>> objects.> The
> > > >>>>>> effects she achieves are mind boggling with the play of
> > > >>> light and
> > > >>>> texture
> > > >>>>>> over surface sufficient to reorder our perceptions in ways
> > > >>> we could
> > > >>>> never
> > > >>>>>> anticipate.Again, art as tertiary artifact, re-admired.
> > > >>>>>>
> > > >>>>>> Since you have written more on time scales, I'll stay away
> > > >>> from the
> > > >>>> topic
> > > >>>>>> in
> > > >>>>>> general; we have agreed too often here to warrant repitition.
> > > >>>>>> But quite specifically, our work in creating the "Fifth
> > > >>> Dimension"> was to
> > > >>>>>> be
> > > >>>>>> able to study changes in a pre-pared system of activity
> > > >>> over a long
> > > >>>> time
> > > >>>>>> period (from inception to death) at several scales of time.
> > > >>> The idea
> > > >>>> was
> > > >>>>>> part of our interest in the failure of "successful" educational
> > > >>>>>> innovations
> > > >>>>>> to be sustained-- how did they die and why and how did their
> > > >>>> implementers
> > > >>>>>> enter in to and respond to the process. Still wrestling with
> > > >>>> analysis--
> > > >>>>>> lots
> > > >>>>>> of 5thD's were born and died but others keep being born.
> > > >>> Some are,
> > > >>>> today,
> > > >>>>>> strikingly like their originals in the 1980's, others have
> > > >>> morphed so
> > > >>>> that
> > > >>>>>> only a few features remain. The children participants, who
> > > >>> are almost
> > > >>>>>> impossible to track over time are now adults -- i sometime
> > > >>> encounter> one
> > > >>>>>> at
> > > >>>>>> ucsd. The college participants are parents I sometimes hear
> > > >>> from. All
> > > >>>>>> recorded in their fieldnotes written at the time. I have
> > > >>> some money
> > > >>>> salted
> > > >>>>>> away so that "when it dies" (or if i can manage to retire before
> > > >>>> doing so
> > > >>>>>> myself) I will have the full range of instances documented
> > > >>> and a lot
> > > >>>> of
> > > >>>>>> the
> > > >>>>>> data in digital form,
> > > >>>>>> so that I can look at that object from both ends of its
> > > >>> history. A
> > > >>>>>> preliminary report is in the book, *The Fifth Dimension*.
> > > >>>>>>
> > > >>>>>> As to LCHC, that is another matter. It seems to me a
> > > >>> certainty that
> > > >>>> it
> > > >>>>>> will
> > > >>>>>> die. It had a near-death experience a couple of years ago.
> > > >>> As a way
> > > >>>> of at
> > > >>>>>> least marking its passing, a number of former and current
> > > >>> members of
> > > >>>> the
> > > >>>>>> lab
> > > >>>>>> are in the process of creating a book that traces its
> > > >>> origins and the
> > > >>>> many
> > > >>>>>> offspring it has generated. THAT collective narrative I
> > > >>> hope to live
> > > >>>> long
> > > >>>>>> enough to see come into being.
> > > >>>>>>
> > > >>>>>> Now if Yuan or anyone would like to see LCHC live,
> > > >>> proposals for how
> > > >>>> to
> > > >>>>>> arrange that would of course be seriously entertained, and
> > > >>> perhaps> maybe
> > > >>>>>> even entertaining! I thought I saw a nibble at
> > > >>> collaboration on
> > > >>>> making
> > > >>>>>> XMCA
> > > >>>>>> a more powerful medium the other day, but it turned out to
> > > >>> be a
> > > >>>> mirage.
> > > >>>>>> So
> > > >>>>>> for now, we keep on keeping on.
> > > >>>>>> mike
> > > >>>>>> On Mon, Dec 21, 2009 at 12:07 PM, Jay Lemke
> > > >>> <jaylemke@umich.edu>> wrote:
> > > >>>>>>
> > > >>>>>>
> > > >>>>>>> Thanks for the link, Mike. Was nice to see someone in the mass
> > > >>>> media,
> > > >>>>>>> affiliated with a newspaper no less, arguing for critical
> visual
> > > >>>> literacy
> > > >>>>>>> to
> > > >>>>>>> protect us from advertising!
> > > >>>>>>>
> > > >>>>>>> Of course that is an old idea in visual education circles,
> > > >>> and it
> > > >>>> can
> > > >>>>>>> build
> > > >>>>>>> on the widespread folk-skepticism toward advertising.
> > > >>> Unfortunately> the
> > > >>>>>>> more
> > > >>>>>>> pernicious effects in ads are probably at subtler levels
> > > >>> than what
> > > >>>> basic
> > > >>>>>>> visual literacy skills can foreground.
> > > >>>>>>>
> > > >>>>>>> "The ability to find meaning in images" is the definition
> > > >>> of visual
> > > >>>>>>> literacy used. That seems a little too basic. I think
> > > >>> everyone finds
> > > >>>>>>> meaning
> > > >>>>>>> in images, with or without any literacy education. Maybe
> > > >>> there is an
> > > >>>>>>> implied
> > > >>>>>>> emphasis on FIND, in the sense of digging below the
> > > >>> surface/obvious,> >>> which
> > > >>>>>>> would be better. But more recent ideas in the field put more
> > > >>>> emphasis on
> > > >>>>>>> visual production relative to interpretation, so I'd
> > > >>> probably go
> > > >>>> with a
> > > >>>>>>> definition more like "the skills of making meaning with visual
> > > >>>> resources,
> > > >>>>>>> for your own purposes", and include in that the meaning-
> > > >>> making we do
> > > >>>> with
> > > >>>>>>> others' images by way of interpretation, critique, etc.
> > > >>>>>>>
> > > >>>>>>> Have you ever noticed that when anyone, docent, tourguide,
> > > >>> or just
> > > >>>> me,
> > > >>>>>>> speaks authoritatively about a painting in a museum, that many
> > > >>>> bystanders
> > > >>>>>>> seem to become interested in listening? People generally
> > > >>> seem to
> > > >>>> believe
> > > >>>>>>> that art images, at least, require some professional
> > > >>> interpretation> or
> > > >>>>>>> benefit from having specialist knowledge (esp.
> > > >>> historical). People
> > > >>>> also
> > > >>>>>>> seem
> > > >>>>>>> to enjoy visual interpretation more than textual. Textual
> > > >>>> interpretation
> > > >>>>>>> is
> > > >>>>>>> seen as superfluous, even obstructing to enjoyment of the
> > > >>> work. No
> > > >>>> one
> > > >>>>>>> really reads literary criticism, or book reviews beyond
> > > >>> the "it's
> > > >>>> good"
> > > >>>>>>> part. But people are fascinated by the exegesis of visual
> > > >>> works. The
> > > >>>> is
> > > >>>>>>> one
> > > >>>>>>> basis for the popularity of the DaVinci Code and similar
> popular
> > > >>>> works.
> > > >>>>>>>
> > > >>>>>>> And there is not a word about visual interpretation skills
> > > >>> in our
> > > >>>>>>> standard
> > > >>>>>>> curricula (meaning as practiced in schools, there are some
> > > >>> nods in
> > > >>>> the
> > > >>>>>>> official standards).
> > > >>>>>>>
> > > >>>>>>>
> > > >>>>>>> JAY.
> > > >>>>>>>
> > > >>>>>>>
> > > >>>>>>> Jay Lemke
> > > >>>>>>> Professor (Adjunct, 2009-2010)
> > > >>>>>>> Educational Studies
> > > >>>>>>> University of Michigan
> > > >>>>>>> Ann Arbor, MI 48109
> > > >>>>>>> www.umich.edu/~jaylemke <http://www.umich.edu/%7Ejaylemke<http://www.umich.edu/~jaylemke>>
> <
> > http://www.umich.edu/%7Ejaylemke <http://www.umich.edu/~jaylemke><
> http://www.umich.edu/~jaylemke<http://www.umich.edu/%7Ejaylemke<http://www.umich.edu/~jaylemke>
> >
> > >
> > > >
> > > >>> <http://www.umich.edu/%7Ejaylemke <http://www.umich.edu/~jaylemke><
> http://www.umich.edu/~jaylemke<http://www.umich.edu/%7Ejaylemke<http://www.umich.edu/~jaylemke>
> >>>
> > <
> > > >>>> http://www.umich.edu/%7Ejaylemke <http://www.umich.edu/~jaylemke><
> http://www.umich.edu/~jaylemke<http://www.umich.edu/%7Ejaylemke<http://www.umich.edu/~jaylemke>
> >>>
> > <
> > > >>>>>>> http://www.umich.edu/%7Ejaylemke<http://www.umich.edu/~jaylemke><
> http://www.umich.edu/~jaylemke<http://www.umich.edu/%7Ejaylemke<http://www.umich.edu/~jaylemke>
> >
>  > >>
> > > >>>>>>>
> > > >>>>>>>
> > > >>>>>>> Visiting Scholar
> > > >>>>>>> Laboratory for Comparative Human Communication
> > > >>>>>>> University of California -- San Diego
> > > >>>>>>> La Jolla, CA
> > > >>>>>>> USA 92093
> > > >>>>>>>
> > > >>>>>>>
> > > >>>>>>>
> > > >>>>>>>
> > > >>>>>>>
> > > >>>>>
> > > >>>> _______________________________________________
> > > >>>> xmca mailing list
> > > >>>> xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
> > > >>>> http://dss.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/xmca
> > > >>>>
> > > >>> _______________________________________________
> > > >>> xmca mailing list
> > > >>> xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
> > > >>> http://dss.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/xmca
> > > >>>
> > > >>
> > > > _______________________________________________
> > > > xmca mailing list
> > > > xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
> > > > http://dss.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/xmca
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > xmca mailing list
> > > xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
> > > http://dss.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/xmca
> > >
> > _______________________________________________
> > xmca mailing list
> > xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
> > http://dss.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/xmca
> >
>
> _______________________________________________
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>
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