Definitions that strip away context make us stupid. Literacy, out of context, is the ability to read and write. In more fortunate circles, the ability is unremarkable and its meaning is a matter of common sense, something agreed upon and obvious. And in this way we begin to take the world for granted, and we lose the ability to think about what we experience.

In context, in a particular life or segment of society, that changes. Literacy grows urgent and powerful in particular ways, and its natures are manifold and fascinating. As we move toward specific lives and experiences, literacy sheds bad definitions and muscles its way past dopey common sense and becomes itself. A poor question is this: What is literacy? A better one is this: What is literacy in this place, for these people?

In this course we will try to put the first question out of our minds and proceed with the second. We will look at a variety of lives and social contexts and see how far we can take our understanding of this rich subject.