Light Onwords / Light Onwards LIVING LITERACIES TEXT OF THE NOVEMBER 14-16, 2002 CONFERENCE AT YORK UNIVERSITY This collection copyright @ 2004 Living Literacies Individual entries copyright @ 2004 in the names of their authors All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. B.W.Powe Living Literacies Committee, 311 Stong College, York University, 4700 Keele St North York, Ontario M3J 1P3 Tel: 416-736-5132 EmaiI: [email protected] LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION Light onwords / light onwards: living literacies : text of the November 14-16, 2002 conference at York University / editor, B. W. Powe ; co-editor, Stephanie Hart. ISBN 0-9736828-0-9 1. Literacy-- Congresses. I. Powe, B. W. (Bruce W.), 1955- II. Hart, Stephanie, 1973- III. Living Literac ies Committee (Toronto, Ont.) P40.5.L5SL44 2004 302.2'244 C2004-905642-5 Printed in Canada at The Coach House Press 401 Huron Street on bpNichol Lane, Toronto Acknowledgements from B. W. Powe What does it mean to be literate in the twenty-first century? How could we involve people in an exploration of the philosophy of literacy? In the processes of learning how to read our world, how could we free the mind, lift the spirit, open perception, and forge connections? What are multiple literacies? These were the questions that drove the creation of a unique conference dedicated to the ideals and ideas of literacy. This book presents the print record of that event we called Living Literacies, an occasion that took place in Toronto at York University in November of 2002. The speakers who are gathered here contributed their work for free; I’m grateful to them all for their concentrated efforts in shaping their oral public presentations into the finely crafted literary expressions you will find here. These pieces represent a powerful intellectual engagement with the issues that surround that one word, “Literacy.” In a sense, the event, and then this book, were both moved by a word. Living Literacies was the result of the committed, inspired, imaginativ e, and tenacious actions of a small band. Special thanks must go to Professor Eric Willis, the Master of Stong College, who put together the organizational team: his patience and far-sightedness, his enthusiasm and his profound conviction that this must be done — all ensured that the conference would be a success. Lianne Vardy, Heidi Liepold, and James MacLaren at the National Literacy Secretariat and HDRC were the most ideal of supporters: they made sure we were well financed, and made sure the federal agencies that backed us were always there, present when we needed their advice. Robert Bishop; Lara Ubaldi; Colleen McLean; Ross Mayot of the Chum-City group; Lynne Payette for transcribing the proceedings; Kim Michasiw, Chair of the Department of English; Gail Vanstone; Michael Jackel of the York Bookstore; Frances Flint; the staff at Stong College and in the York English department — all these people contributed essential work; nothing would have happened without them. Special thanks to the professionals at Canadian Learning Television and BookTelevision for creating the Living Literacies television series for national broadcast. Bridges were built between people and institutions, alliances formed, structures planned, energies synchronized. Special thanks must go to my editorial assistant, Stephanie Hart. She was able, with considerable diplomatic finesse and literary acumen, to pull together the work you now see before you. None of what is here, in this record, would have seen the light of day if not for her steady persistence and wise calm. I am indebted to her diligence, her sense of excellence. In these pages I hope you will find inspiration, thought, provocations, new angles, stimulations for more reflection, the basis for a continuing response. From these words and thoughts may come your words and thought. The mission of the Living Literacies conference was to breathe more life into the issues, range, concerns, and depth of literacy in all its forms. The purpose of this book is to record, on the page, what was said, over those days. These words form, then, yet another part of the vitality, the passion and intelligence, the concern and reflectiveness, that surround and move what we invoke and mean through that individual word, “literacy.” Editorial Direction: B. W. Powe Editorial Assistant: Stephanie Hart Copy-editing: Gil Adamson Production, design, and publication: Coach House Press Funding: The National Literacy Secretariat, Human Resources and Development Canada Academic Support: Lorna R. Marsden, Ph.D., President and Vice-Chancellor, York University TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments from B. W. Powe PART ONE: ORIGINS AND FUTURITY Eric Willis Introductions B. W. Powe Light Between Words John O'Leary The City is the Classroom Senator Joyce Fairbairn The Literacy Movement in Canada PART TWO: LANGUAGE AND ORALITY Barry Sanders Literacy Entrances Everyone it Touches Ningwakwe (Priscilla George) The Rainbow/Holistic Approach to Aboriginal Literacy Christopher Dewdney The History of Language and Writing Robert K. Logan The Origin of Language and the Co-Evolution of Literacy and Conceptualization Steve McCaffery If infancy were dead... PART THREE: E-LITERACY Caitlin Fisher Electronic Literacies Moses Znaimer Moses' Rap Daniel Richler An Emanation of Vacuity : (boobs on the book tube?) Jean Baudrillard, translated by Marilyn Lambert-Drache: Violence of the Virtual and Integral Reality PART FOUR: IMAGES William Irwin Thompson The Cultural Phenomenology of Literature George Steiner , with an introduction by Maurice Elliott: Grammars of Creation PART FIVE: CRITIQUE Geoff Pevere Against the Flow: The Limits of Image Literacy Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak At Both Ends of the Spectrum Contributor Biographies INTRODUCTIONS by Eric Willis As I reflect on the Living Literacies experience and the papers from that conference reproduced in this book, I am reminded of a trip to Crete where among other things I had the opportunity to see the Phaistos Disc in Herakleion's Archaeological Museum. This small clay disc from the Minoan civilization is probably 3500 years old and inscribed on both sides with forty-five different pictures in a distinct and fascinating spiral pattern. To this day it is the only one of its kind ever discovered among all the archaeological relics of the Mediterranean and still fascinates scholars, who haven't yet been able to decipher and agree on its meaning. One is left to only imagine what the author of the disc was attempting to communicate and when or if we will ever be able to understand its message. The tragedy of this lost literacy is a reminder of the timeliness of the Living Literacies project and conference held at York University, Toronto from November 14 to 15, 2002. Int ended from the beginning to explore the how, what, and why of literacy, the conference was a huge success at stimulating discussion and debate about the potential meanings of literacy in Canada's advanced technological society of the twenty-first century. What follows here are the presentations from that conference. As captivated and excited as I was by the idea and intent of this conference during the planning stages, I am even more impressed by the range and quality of the presentations included in this book. As the Master of Stong College here at York, I take pride in telling you that this conference and book are products of a committee of Fellows of the college that include Rob Bishop, Lara Ubaldi, B. W. Powe, and myself. As the prime mover for both, however, a special thanks goes out to B. W. Powe for the genesis and genius of the idea, the conviction to stay the course through the inevitable bumps and bruises that accompany an undertaking of this magnitude, and for the foresight to promote the signific ance of this issue. As intriguing and mysterious as the Phaistos Disc might well be to scholars, its story also informs us of the importance of seeking to understand and illuminate literacy in its many forms. It is our hope that this publication will help in this process for the reader. Light Between Words by B. W. Powe Living Literacies began with words, in words – with an idea – in a conversation. Three years ago, John O’Leary and I were talking over lunch. We’d had many conversations before – indeed, it has become almost a ritual for us to do so. But this conversation went in a new direction. We talked about the literacy movement; then suddenly, as if from nowhere, we found ourselves talking about the philosophy of literacy. What we meant by this was:how does literacy move us; what does it mean to have grown up within an alphabetic culture; to what degree has our civilization in the west been shaped by the idea, or ideal, of literacy itself? We thought out loud, to one another: to read and write, speak and interpret, could be part of our legacy of human rights, part of the “civil” in civilization. Then, of course, we recognized that there are many forms of literacy – oral, visual, mathematical, print, cyber. We acknowledged the vigorous, often acrimonious debate that can erupt between furious proponents of the Book and relentless advocates of the E-screen, “being digital.” John and I were confronted by a plethora of ideas. It was more than an abundance; it was more like a torrent. We felt as if we had tapped some source, a surge through which that one word: “literacy” flowed. Hence we said, and agreed, let’s step into the open; let’s create an event that would let loose those ideas in the public sphere.