International Literacy Day was on Monday, September 8.
It is both fitting and essential that literacy have its own day dedicated to it given its profound and wide-reaching impact on communities and education systems worldwide.
Literacy is a broad and diverse concept, one that has continuously matched the evolving nature of our ever-expanding world.
UNESCO defines literacy as “a means of identification, understanding, interpretation, creation, and communication” that goes beyond the “conventional concept” of literacy as “a set of reading, writing and counting skills.”
This complexity and multimodality is demonstrated well through its various subsets, including, but not limited to,
- Information literacy
- Visual literacy
- Digital literacy
- Media literacy
- Financial literacy
- Cultural literacy
- Traditional literacy
Literacy lies at the heart of not only English studies, but World Languages, Linguistics, Film, and, ultimately, education as a whole.
Here are just a few of the ways literacy functions in these fields.
English:
Literacy is the foundation upon which English studies are built. It drives reading, writing, and theory. It is at the core of critical thinking and problem solving, synthesis and analysis.
Whether through a close reading of literature, analysis of cultural context, or the craft of personal essays, literacy is everything.
Without it, English cannot function.
World Languages & Linguistics:
With the study of World Languages, literacy unlocks new worlds.
It’s not just about learning to read and write in a new language, but about connecting with cultures, communities, and new ways of understanding the world around you.
Literacy allows for bridges to be built across cultures in order to foster empathy and shape thought and identity.
In Linguistics, literacy aids in a deeper understanding of the rules and structure of language and how we create meaning through speech and writing.
Film:
How do we tell effective stories? What visual images conjure specific feelings? How do writing, visual, editing, and sound choices influence how we understand a story? What meaning can be generated from genre films?
Literacy helps us recognize and answer these questions in Film studies. In this way, it extends beyond traditional notions of literacy into the visual and digital realm where new meaning can be generated.
In other words, literacy is a vital tool for better understanding ourselves, each other, and the world around us.
It is vast, diverse, and multimodal. It helps shape the rules of educational engagement, while serving as a guide for creation and interpretation of text and meaning.
At once, literacy is everything and yet only the tip of the iceberg.
Suffice it to say, we will be celebrating International Literacy Day for many more generations to come.