Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Dr.Harker
DALN2
November30,2015
DALN2
Inthisessay,Iwillexploreliteracyasexpression,astoldbyvariouspeoplefrom
theDigitalArchiveforLiteracyNarratives.First,IwillsharewhichtypesofnarrativesI
selectedtoanalyze,andhowliteracywasrepresentedineachofthem.Secondly,Iwill
relatetheirmeaningstoagreatermetaphorofliteracy.Lastly,Iwillrelatethese
narrativestomyown.Itismyhopethatthisessaywillbroadenmyaudiencesandmy
ownperspectiveonunderstandingthevastnessanduniquenessofliteracy.
ThefourliteracynarrativesthatIselectedeachhadadifferenttopic,buttheyall
sharedacommonthemeofart.Thetopicsincludedmusic,dance,art,andvolleyball.
Iselectedthesenarrativesbecausetheymoreorlesshadanimportantpartinmyown
literacydevelopment.Idancedballetfromtheageoftwountiltheageofsixteen,and
alsotookoncontemporaryandhiphop;itwasaveryimportantpartofmydevelopment.
Dancehelpedmelearnhowtoexpressmyself,whichseemstobe,accordingtothe
narrativesIviewed,themostsynonymouslyimportantaspectofindividualliteracy.In
DanceasaNarrativeFormofExpression,MarissaMazzastates,Danceismyformof
communication.AlthoughIwillnotattempttodefineexpression,asIwillnotattemptto
defineliteracy,Icanrelatethateachoftheseaspectsexistsuniquelyandsymbiotically.
ForthesenarrativesthatIhaveselected,theabilitytoexpressemotiononaphysical
platformisliteracy.InoneofthenarrativesIread,someoneevenstated,Ifeelthat
somehowexpressionitselfislikeavast,limitlessstorehouseofcreativepossibilities
and,incredibly,weallholdthekeytoourownuniquestorehouse(SelfExpressionis
Art).
Ineachnarrative,thepersonessentiallydescribedwhatliteracymeanttothem,
bothliterallyandfiguratively.Althoughtheinitialcommonconsensusbetweeneach
personwasthebeliefthatliteracyistheabilitytoread,writeandunderstand,theywent
onthroughouttheirnarrativetodescribeliteracyassomethinguniqueandpersonal.For
example,Ireadaninterviewwithadanceteacher,andshebelievedherownrelationship
withliteracyincludedtheabilitytoreadmovementandcreatemotion.This,inmy
opinion,wasaneffectivewayofdiscussingliteracybecauseshewasimpassionedand
articulate.Sheevencomparedlearningtodancetolearningalanguage.
Fromeachofthesenarratives,Ihavebeenabletoreflectuponthegreater
understandingthatexistsbehindliteracy.Thesenarrativesareessentialforanyonewho
wishestostudyorexpandtheirscopeonliteracy.Notonlydotheyshowindividuality,
buttheyalsoshowcommonbridges,andevengaps,thatledthesepeopletotheirown
valuablerelationshipwithliteracy.Ultimately,theDLANsequencehasmademerealize
thatpeoplecommonlyandalsounknowinglysuccumbtoinitiallyaligningliteracywith
thepublicviewofliteracy.DavidBartondefinesthisviewasonethatacceptsliteracyas
beingtheabilitytosimplyreadandwrite.Thepublicviewofliteracyoftentendsto
createthebeliefthatifsomeonecanobtaintheskillstoreadandwrite,andthentheywill
successfullyfunctionatahighlevelinsociety.Furthermore,thisviewcreatesa
discussionthatsurroundsliteracywithsimplebinariesthatlimit,mostoften
unintentionally,thebroaderscopeofhowindividualismexistswithinliteracy.For
example,inthenarrativeDanceisaLanguage,thewomanstates,mydefinitionof
literacyistohavetheabilitytoexpressyourselfclearlythroughthewrittenword(write),
tobeabletounderstandit(read)andtobeabletothinkcriticallyaboutit.Sheliterally
includesthewordswriteandread.Thisishergotodefinitionofliteracy,anditaligns
withthepublicview.However,whenthisdanceteachergoesontodescribeherown
relationship(whichIfindtobeakeywordinthisanalysis)withliteracy,herdefinition
broadensthatitexpandsmuchfurtherthanthesimplepublicview.Itblossomsintoa
personalanduniqueconnotationofexperiencesandemotionsthatunmaskthemselvesas
literacy.Sherelatesthatshegets[her]choreographicideasfromliterature,usuallya
quotethatresonateswith[her]andhasthepotentialtobedevelopedintoachoreographic
idea.Forexample[she]madeadancepiececalled'PrehistoricAnimal'basedon[a]quote
byWinstonChurchill.
Beforethisassignment,Ididntcomprehendthevastvarietyofentriestherewere
intheDigitalArchiveofLiteracyNarratives.Iexploredmanyentries,andoftenfound
theliteracymythorothermetaphorsthatwevestudiedinclassthatlaywithinsomeones
definitionofliteracy.Yet,Itoofoundmanyuniqueandunexpecteddefinitionsof
literacy.ThenarrativesIselectedalldefinedliteracywithwhatBartoncallsthepublic
viewofliteracy.Yet,whentheydiscussedtheirstory,thedefinitionofliteracy
blossomedintoamuchmorecomplexanddevelopedmeaning.Frommyinterpretation
oftheliteracynarratives,IhaverealizedthatIlendgreatimportancetoartand
expression,asameansoffreeingandexpandingtheselfandsoul.Afterall,asBarton
states,weassertouridentitythroughliteracy(Barton46).Iamawarethatmyown
valuesareinfactindividual,andthatthemaynotalignwithothers.However,this
furthersprovesthatliteracyisdelicateandmustbetreatedwiththeunderstandingthat
therearelimitlessscopesandlensesthatcanbeusedtolookobserveit.
Inconclusion,Ibelievethatwhenaskinganindividualtodefineliteracy,they
oftenstraytowardsusingthepublicdefinitionofliteracy:theabilitytoreadandwrite
andmakesenseofit.However,Ifeelthataskinganindividualtodefineliteracy,once
acceptingtheyusethisdefaultmode,islimiting.Adefinitionisconcreteandfinalized;it
leaveslittleornoroomforgrowthandaddition.However,literacyitself,inordertoexist
insideofanindividualexperience,cannotbelimited,concrete,orfinalized.Each
narrativehasaparticulardifferenceaboutit,andbecauseofthat,wecannotsimplydefine
itwithasentence.Itcantakeformofexpression,laughter,sadness,orevenstill
education.But,wemustacceptthatwecannotsimplydefinethisnotion.Itisfartoo
immenseandindividualizedforustoachieveafinalmeaning.[Literacywillneverhave
afinalmeaningbecauseittakestheshapeofmanydifferentdomains,andisattachedto
somanyindividuals.]
FromexploringtheDigitalArchiveofLiteracyNarratives,Ihaverealizedmany
things.Throughoutthisclass,IfeltthatIhadagreaterunderstandingofwhatliteracy
was.However,readingtheseindividualspathstoliteracyandpersonalconnectionstoit,
mademerealizethatIwillneverfullyunderstandtheextentofliteracy.Wecanattempt
toplaceitinasmallboxofdefinitions,butultimatelyitwillalwaysbegrowingand
expandingoutsideofthisbox.Everyindividualwhocontributeshisorherstoryis
contributingtothefreeingofliteracyfromabox.
Bibliography
Barton,David.Literacy:AnIntroductiontotheEcologyofWrittenLanguage.Oxford,
UK:Blackwell,1994.Print.
DLANInclusions:
1.LearningLiteracyThroughVolleyball(ErinBlake)
2.SelfExpressionisArt
3.DanceisaLanguage:Interview3
4.EarthWithoutArtisEhMarilynMedina
5.DanceasaNarrativeFormofExpression(MarissaMazza)
6.TheMusicinMeMistyHill