Prewriting assignment

"Literacy is control of secondary use of language" -Gee

"Any discourse, primary or secondary, is for most people most of the time only mastered through acquisition, not learning. Thus, literacy is mastered through acquisition, not learning" -Gee

"Since literacy is regarded as so unquestionably normative and normal, the deviancy of illiterates tends to be thought of as lack of a simple mechanical skill" -Ong

"The fact that we do not commonly feel the influence of writing on our thoughts
shows that we have interiorized the technology of writing so deeply
that without tremendous effort we cannot separate it from our-selves or even recognize its presence and influence" -Ong

"Typically, literates want words and thoughts pinned down- though it is impossible to 'pin down' an event" -Ong


Literacy is important to me because I am majoring in journalism, which is all about communicating to other people, especially in the written word, which is what I am focusing on. Being literate in english and journalism are essential to my major. According to Gee, the written word is a technology created by people, and I am hoping to use this technology in order to spread ideas, events, and etc. I am also planning to minor in Spanish. In Spanish I am trying to become literate in another language. I am trying to become literate in the most literal definition of the word. This is another discourse I am trying to pick up on.

Literacy is a necessity in all aspects of our lives. In order to function as a society it is a requirement to have a literate population. But what exactly do I mean by literacy? Traditionally, it is seen as being able to read and write in a certain language. However, there have been societies that thrived without a written language. There is more to literacy than just that. There are many different subjects one can be literate in, for instance language, or an occupation, or just a hobby. A doctor is literate in the practice of medicine, but maybe not in economics or culinary, just as an economist or chef would not know medicine. Having different literacies is important. We need these different "discourses," as Gee would call them, in order to function in our lives.