This is part 1 of a series of blog articles on the history of low literacy in relation to digital literacy.
Stigmas then and now
Stigmas then and nowThe stigmas surrounding low literacy* are a relatively recent development, stemming in part from the declining welfare state and an increasingly neoliberal society. This while historically, low-literates have mostly actively participated in literate societies, for example in agriculture, construction and similar occupations where language skills were less relevant (Graff, 1979; Street, 1993). Yet within historical discourse, low-literate people were often seen as unwilling, stupid, intellectually incapable, or even as “uneducable individuals who plague society” (Lockridge, 1974, p. 77). Fortunately, this perspective has largely changed. However, the underlying assumptions remain. Through this blog series, we seek to make sense of these assumptions by providing insight into the history of low literacy, and drawing the relationship to our understanding of digital literacy. How did people used to look at low literacy and what can we learn from this? And how can we translate historical concepts and views around literacy into digital literacy?
Historical studies show examples of low-literacy cultures that developed exceptional memory skills through visual and oral practices (Bloch, 1993; Lyons, 2022; Street, 1993). Passages from the Bible, for example, were better remembered by those with low literacy than those who could read (Barton & Hamilton, 1998). Low-literate people also found creative ways to function in society through elephant paths, contradicting the common assumption that low literacy automatically excluded them. Thus, visual images have served as valuable tools for low-literacy populations throughout history. The medieval Church recognized the educational importance of statues and paintings, and used church architecture strategically to impart knowledge. Statues or “painted windows,” for example, served as teaching aids for the less privileged. Images were therefore often referred to as “The Bible of the Poor” (Lyons, 2022). For centuries, low-literate people also listened to texts recited by third parties or delegated writing to friends and family. One could even argue that low-literate people had created for themselves a literary culture adapted to their needs, abilities, barriers and potential.
Low literacy, a scourge?
Low-literate people were historically often referred to as social misfits anyway, especially in the 20th century (see Lockridge, 1974). In the 1970s, for example, millions of low-literate people appeared to live and function undetected within developed industrial societies. This caused deep surprise and was even considered a national disgrace in some countries (Lyons, 2022). Labeling low-literates as a scourge was an extreme way of classifying a subgroup in society based solely on the lack of a basic skill. Although such extreme views of low literacy are now thankfully less normalized, some problematic interpretations and assumptions persist. These views suggest, for example, that low-literate people are almost naturally doomed to a marginalized existence in the shadows, with mostly barriers and disadvantages, handicapped by their lack of intellectual ability and knowledge.
Education reformer Paulo Freire showed back in the 1980s that illiteracy and low literacy do not simply come from limited intellectual skills and abilities. He identifies three main reasons for low literacy. First, Freire focused on the aspect of reading, explaining that people can be or become illiterate and low-literate because they see no need to engage in reading activities. For example, there is little reason for unskilled workers to acquire reading or writing skills in their daily work or personal lives. Second, Freire relates illiteracy and low literacy to the denial of the right to read. This implies that certain individuals or social groups have historically been deliberately prevented from accessing education and acquiring language skills, leading to widespread low literacy among marginalized communities. Here it is known that low literacy can also be transmitted intergenerationally. Freire’s third statement suggests that people may choose illiteracy or low literacy as a defense mechanism against the growing influence and control of the state and similar institutional actors. Moreover, although both illiteracy and low literacy are often seen as personal ailments and limitations, historical examples show that these phenomena are much more culturally and politically grounded (Barton & Hamilton, 1998).
Another view of literacy
If we approach literacy outside the Western framework, we see that its value is understood differently. For example, sociologist Maurice Bloch (1993) studied literacy in local communities in Africa, and found that villagers viewed “school knowledge” and “formal” literacy as useful and factual, but irrelevant and disconnected from their everyday reality. This everyday reality was instead subject to “home knowledge,” where more informal forms of literacy were perceived as necessary. For example, drawings on walls or in the field to indicate where work still needed to be done and in what way, or the use of certain colors on the road to indicate that people needed transportation or food. For example, other social scientists refer to the existence of different forms of literacies that emerge within different everyday contexts, in relation to cultural norms. For example, the term “everyday literacy” was introduced to distinguish “school-based” literacy from the everyday use of literacy outside the classroom. If we contrast our Western understanding of literacy and preference for the written language mode with such examples, for example, more agrarian societies in the global South where educated literate intellectuals are sometimes a minority (see, e.g., Ayalon, 2004), we must ask: who are the “minorities” or “social pariahs” anyway?
In many parts of the world, contemporary societies generally still do not consider language skills the basis for participation, inclusion and citizenship. Even throughout Western history, the majority of people lived “on the fringes of literacy” (see Goody, 1968, p. 12). Yet in most Western societies today, literacy is almost taken for granted in order to participate in the broader society. It is also often linked to promoting modernity and development. The shift to today’s culture of primarily written literacy is based on the “graphocentric” Western understanding of literacy, which favors the written language mode over oral communication, for example. Moreover, the preference for this written form of literacy can potentially promote marginalization, exclusion and lack of perspective for people already living in precarious conditions. For example, because they struggle to master this written form of literacy, while they may be able to master other forms of “everyday,” or more vocal forms of literacy.
Development
Moreover, progress in literacy need not always be seen as a direct driver of economic development, but rather as something that can result from it. Broader economic prosperity creates more opportunities for more people, which means, for example, that people no longer have to stay at home with their children, but can take them to daycare to pursue their own education. Or do not need multiple jobs to make ends meet and therefore do not have time and energy left over to work on their literacy skills. Thus, the development of literacy is subject to many diverse social, cultural, political, economic and personal factors. Making an almost natural connection between literacy and participation, prosperity, inclusion, and equality assumes that low-literates are unable to participate or prosper at all, for example. However, the social reality of low-literate people shows a different picture. For example, economic development and prosperity are accompanied by the development of literacy through the provision of opportunities in a power dynamic that is established horizontally, based on mutual respect, equality, autonomy and consideration, rather than a vertical power dynamic where the imposition of norms, values and goals are central.
This contradictory understanding is central to the politics and culture of low literacy, and also translates to the current understanding around digital literacy and digital inclusion. More on the politics and culture of low literacy, and its relationship to digital literacy and inclusion, in the next part!
*We are aware that the term “low literacy” is controversial because it indicates a hierarchical gap between low and high literacy that reproduces societal power differences. We therefore refer to this subgroup as people with a greater distance from literate society. However, for ease of reading, we think it is still useful to use the term in a nuanced setting, where low literacy does not automatically equate to illiteracy, impaired ability to act or marginalized social position. It includes those who struggle with language skills in participatory practices. In that context, people may well have higher/better skills in other social, cultural, political and/or economic dimensions, and therefore we see them as equals and experts in low literacy. For ease of reading, however, we refer to these people with limited basic skills as low-literate, with all due respect and dignity.
References
Ayalon, A (2004) Reading Palestine: Printing and Literacy, 1900-1948. Austin TX : University of Texas Press.
Barton, D and Hamilton M (1998) Local Literacies: Reading and writing in one community. London and New York Routledge.
Bloch, M (1993) The uses of schooling and literacy in a Zafimaniry village. Cross-cultural approaches to literacy, 87-109.
Freire, P (1985) The Politics of Education: Culture, Power and Liberation. Donaldo Macedo, Basingstoke UK Macmillan.
Goody, J (1968) Literacy in Traditional Societies. Cambridge UK. Cambridge University Press.
Graff, HJ (1979) The Literacy Myth: Cultural Integration and Social Structure in the Nineteenth Century. London and New York Routledge.
Graheli, S (2021) ‘Readers and Consumers of Popular Print’, Quaerendo 51: 61-94.
Lockridge, KA (1974) Literacy in Colonial New England: An Enquiry into the Social Context of Literacy in the Early Modern West. New York Norton.
Lyons, M (2022) The war on illiteracy. In The history of illiteracy in the modern world since 1750, Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Street, BV (1993) Cross-Cultural Approaches to Literacy, Cambridge UK. Cambridge University Press.
