1st Edition
Pluriversal Literacies for Sustainable Futures When Words Are Not Enough
This book presents a new vision of literacy that frames meaning-making and communication in relation to individual, collective, and ecological needs. Building on the concept of the pluriversal, Perry explores how literacy education can support multiple ways of being and becoming. In so doing, Perry rejects limiting and skills-focused definitions of literacy and instead embraces a more profound conceptualisation that reflects the boundless potential of literacy practices. Bringing together research from the Global North and South, Perry connects literacy education with semiotics, philosophy, sustainability studies, and geopolitics to argue for the urgency of a pluriversal model of literacy that combats a normative, neo-colonial understanding of reading and writing.
Offering a unique contribution to the field of literacy studies, this book demonstrates how literacy is a semiotic process and literacy practices can connect learner needs with pathways to social, ecological, and cultural sustainability. With Perry as a guide, this illuminating book invites readers to join the journey into literacies beyond words, to arrive at a more holistic and inclusive understanding of what literacy practices are and can be.
CONTENTS
Part I: Literacies and the Pluriverse: Stories and Principles
Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 The Pluriverse: Navigating a common world with very little in common
Chapter 3 Scales and politics of literacies education
Chapter 4 Literacy: What it is and what it does
Chapter 5 "Literacy" translated
Part II: Literacies Practices and Pedagogies
Chapter 6 Literacy of print
Chapter 7 Literacy of faith
Chapter 8 Literacies of land and water
Chapter 9 Literacy of the body
Chapter 10 Literacy of matter
Chapter 11 Enacting pluriversal literacies: A framework for practice
Biography
Mia Perry is a Professor of Arts and Literacies in Education at the University of Glasgow, Scotland.