27.3431, Review: Applied Ling; Ling & Lit: Mills (2015)

Tue Aug 30 14:54:35 UTC 2016

LINGUIST List: Vol-27-3431. Tue Aug 30 2016. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 27.3431, Review: Applied Ling; Ling & Lit: Mills (2015)

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Date: Tue, 30 Aug 2016 10:54:21
From: Jose Aguilar Río [jose.aguilarrio at univ-paris3.fr]
Subject: Literacy Theories for the Digital Age

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Book announced at http://linguistlist.org/issues/26/26-5413.html

AUTHOR: Kathy A. Mills
TITLE: Literacy Theories for the Digital Age
SUBTITLE: Social, Critical, Multimodal, Spatial, Material and Sensory Lenses
SERIES TITLE: New Perspectives on Language and Education
PUBLISHER: Multilingual Matters
YEAR: 2015

REVIEWER: Jose Ignacio Aguilar Río, Université de la Sorbonne Nouvelle - Paris III

Reviews Editor: Helen Aristar-Dry

SUMMARY

Kathy A. Mills' “Literacy Theories for the Digital Age” is a 207 pages long
monograph that “brings together six essential approaches to literacy research
and educational practice” (Mills, 2016: back cover). Mills' monograph counts
seven chapters, two of which are updated versions of previously published
papers. There is a thorough and up to date 30 pages long references section at
the end – the most recent works were published in 2015 –, as well as a
synthetic, useful 15 pages long index. A foreword by David Howes and a preface
by the author precede the seven main chapters.

Chapter 1 is entitled “Globalisation, Mobile Lives and Schooling in the
Digital Turn”. It functions as an introduction. The author positions the
notion of “literacy” as related to a specific time period and economical,
social, political context, such as “the digital turn” (ibid.: 1). An attempt
is made to give a complex, thorough definition of “literacy”, that accounts
for learning objectives, aides, materials, situations, relations, actors and
outcomes. In so doing, the author lists the chief elements of literacy for the
digital turn, namely: mobile lives, education policy, teachers, pedagogy and
practice,  (ibid.: 5-11). Chapter 1 is an updated version of a previously
published paper.

Chapters 2 through 7 develop specific literacy theories. They all share a
similar outline, such as: key concepts; origins; tensions; recent
developments; intersections (with other literacy theories); implications for
practice; new (research) directions. Not all of the chapters contain an
introduction or a final summary. This reviewer was left wanting for these
rather useful editorial aids.

Chapter 2, “Socio-cultural Literacies”, opens with a short introduction
presenting “the socio-cultural paradigm of literacy research” (ibid.: 17).
Literacy is depicted as rooted within political and economical structures that
govern the relations among groups of people, as well as influence the
development of constructs such as an individual's identity. Concepts such as
“situated cognition”, “cognition in practice”, “situated learning” and
“communities of practice” are discussed. Among the tensions for socio-cultural
literacies, the author points out the “limits of the local” (ibid.: 25) as
well as the “digital nature of the dominant culture” (ibid.: 26). Chapter 2 is
an updated version of a previously published paper.

In Chapter 3, “Critical Literacies”, literacy is embedded within power
relations originating from human agency. Ideological notions such as
“domination”, “privilege”, “oppression” and “ideology”, which are central to
neoliberal societies, function as symbolic tools that allow Mills to depict
literacies. A certain view of an “agency of emancipation” is put forward,
which would become attainable by virtue of digital tools and practices. As
regards its implications for practice, Mills insists on the teachers'
responsibility to reflect about ways to democratize access to literacy, as
well as to restore agency to learners. Finally, the principle of public
schooling is questioned, as it may appear as a by-product of neoliberal
economic policies.

Chapter 4 is entitled “Multimodal Literacies” and shifts towards a more
cognitive and didactic, rather than social and political, perspective as
regards literacy development. Some of the ideas discussed in the former
chapters, such as the unequal distribution of digital tools, which appear as
pervasive in some geopolitical contexts, are brought to the fore again here in
order to illustrate the evolution of certain literacy practices, such as
reading, as well as the implications regarding curricula design,
implementation and teaching. This chapter presents some of the most precise
implications for practice within the whole volume.

In Chapter 5, “Socio-spatial Literacies”, the notion of “institution” appears
as central, as it allows the author to characterize literacy development as a
complex process that unfolds, not only at school, but also at home, as well as
in many other public spaces such as malls, prisons and rural areas. The author
draws on disciplines such as geography and urban studies in order to account
for how the unequal arrangement of public spaces has consequences on the
chances of groups of learners for their literacy development. The links
between social practices and spatial dimensions is discussed, as well as their
influence on literacy.

Chapter 6, “Socio-material Literacies”, is concerned with “the material
dimensions of education” (ibid.: 114). According to some of the socio-material
theories reviewed by Mills, literacy is depicted both as a “process and
product of material action and interaction”, which concerns “human actors as
among [rather than above] the materials” (ibid.: 116). Such seems to be the
central point of chapter 6. As far as directions for research are concerned,
Mills pleads for works that help “understand the human material […] without
prioritizing”, “to understand the complex amalgamation and networks” (ibid.:
122) where literacy development may come to occur. As for the practical
implications, Mills aims to “highlight how classrooms […] function as
ecologies of literacy practices” (ibid.: 133). Although the connexion with the
preceding chapter is clearly visible, in “Socio-spatial Literacies”, a certain
prevalence of “the classroom” becomes apparent. This may lead to questioning
for, as stated in Chapter 5, literacy development may take place in a large
number of institutions and public spaces.

In the final chapter, “Sensory Literacies”, the author pleads for a
“revitalised way of thinking about the multisensoriality of literacy” (ibid.:
137). Such perspective is illustrated by the analysis of “technologies [that]
are visually responsive” (ibid.: 138) but also “interactive technologies for
responding to human movement” (ibid.: 139). As for directions for research,
Mills suggests to “reconsider the oft-forgotten bodily dimension” of literacy
development and practice, such as “kinaesthesia” and “heptics” (ibid.: 156).
Ultimately, the authors insists on her analysis of “sensorial practices of
literacy” as being “modified by daily interactions with new technologies”
(ibid.: 161). Chapter 7 is the only one to contain figures that illustrate
some of the ideas and viewpoints put forward.

EVALUATION

Kathy A. Mills' work is truly impressive. The wealth of references contained
within the volume makes certainly for a useful reading. But that is not the
main asset of the book. What comes through as the strong point of Mills' work
is that she has attempted to depict as large, comprehensive and complex a
picture as possible of the multiple meanings that “literacy” may have in such
a diverse global context as that of our planet in the 21st century. This
ultimate goal does not come across easily, as it takes some time and some
reading to perceive the larger picture. This reader sometimes had the
impression that the title chosen – Literacy Theories for the Digital Age – may
not have been the most adequate one, since the book often read like a
catalogue of previous research. The extensive academic references are indeed
needed in order to illustrate the different, integrative, approaches to
literacy. This reader thought he had a rather vague, yet functional idea of
what “literacy” meant. Now he gratefully realises how mistaken he was. The
definition of literacy that is presented is certainly an over-arching one.
However, for a work that seems to deal implicitly with complexity, references
to authors such as Edgar Morin (2015) or Alain Berthoz (2009) seem to be
missing. For a book whose author argues for taking an interest in “educational
practice”, the “implications for practice” that come at the end of each
chapter were regarded by this reviewer as a weak point, or at least, a
considerably less developed. Ultimately, Kathy A. Mills' work will interest
both undergraduate and postgraduate students, Ph.D. candidates and more
generally scholars working on fields that overlap educational matters. The
volume could be used as a course book. Should there be a second edition, it
may be a good idea to add brief introductory and concluding texts for each
chapter, as well as integrate practical sorts of exercises, where the
“implication for practices” may be brought to debate and exchange. Also, it
may come in handy to have an appendix listing the different tools, devices and
websites discussed as materials elements by virtue of which literacy may
develop.

REFERENCES

Berthoz, A. (2009). Simplexité (La). Paris: Odile Jacob.

Mills, K. A. (2016). Literacy Theories for the Digital Age: Social, Critical,
Multimodal, Spatial, Material and Sensory Lenses New Perspectives on Language
and Education. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

Morin, E. (2015). Introduction à la pensée complexe. Paris: Seuil.

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Jose Ignacio Aguilar Río is a Senior Lecturer at Sorbonne Nouvelle-Paris 3
University in France. He teaches undergraduate and post-graduate courses in
education and applied linguistics. His research interests are in classroom
interaction, foreign language teacher education and research methodology. He
has presented papers at international conferences in Europe. His works have
been published in international reviews.

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