Bullard 1

Jacob Bullard
Nancy Roche
Writing 1010-013
8 October 2014
A New Take on Literacy: Barton and Hamilton (second draft)
When it comes to literacy, some people do not see the fullness contained within the
concept. In Barton and Hamiltons essay, Literacy Practices, they attempt to shine a light on this
vaguely defined term. The two scholars establish a theory regarding literacy which enables them
to institute a unique understanding of the term literacy which extends literacy into the social
realm. This new take on literacy is meant to shed light on literacy and its role socially as opposed
to its role individually. By the use of six propositions throughout their essay, Barton and
Hamilton are able to further expand on this idea of literacy being a social practice through simple
facts and logic.
Barton and Hamilton propose that literacy is best understood as a set of social practices;
these are observable in events which are mediated by written texts (9). This proposition towards
their theory is backed by the simple use of logical reasoning. It makes sense logically that
literacy, at an individual level, can be compiled with other individual literacies to create a group
or social level of literacy. Barton and Hamilton explain that one can view literacy as not only an
individual trait, but also as a group of individual literacy traits combined to create a community
literacy (13). As Barton and Hamilton extend literacy into the social world, their next proposition
is regarding why this is important.
The social aspects of literacy in Barton and Hamiltons theory show how literacy
practices are of significant importance in a social medium. Barton and Hamilton propose that

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literacy practices are purposeful and embedded in broader social goals and cultural practices
(12). An example of this proposition would be someone making a self-repair on their vehicle.
They must read the owners or repair manual to gain the knowledge of how to make the repair.
An underlying social goal of the repair would be to ensure the safety of the vehicle on public
roads for the well-being of the community. The literacy practices which carry out these social
goals are explained by Barton and Hamilton in a way that is pretty straight forward.
Barton and Hamilton basically state that because an individuals demands, available
resources, and interests are always changing, the literacy practices an individual engages in will
adapt and transform as well (14). This proposition made by the two scholars is not difficult to
grasp; in fact, it is quite simple to comprehend. The simplicity Barton and Hamilton use in their
proposition helps to solidify their theory. To understand that literacy practices vary and are in a
constant state of flux is beneficial to understand the next proposition Barton and Hamilton make.
The two scholars propose that there are different literacies associated with different
domains of life (11). By comparing and contrasting the different literacy practices within each of
the domains Barton and Hamilton are able to distinguish the ways in which these domains are
held together and how they originate through the use of literacy. These many uses of literacy
help support another key point from Barton and Hamiltons theory.
Their theory is supported by the claim that text can be portrayed as evidence, display,
threat, and/or ritual and for this reason, the potential or capability of literacy needs to be known
(13). What Barton and Hamilton are essentially saying is that literacy has persuasive power. This
power is meant to be revealed by Barton and Hamilton because one of their claims cannot be
understood without this knowledge.

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The separation of domains by the power of literacy explains Barton and Hamiltons claim
that, literacy practices are patterned by social institutions and power relationships, and some
literacies are more dominant, visible, and influential than other, (12). One way this claim can be
understood is to notice the different patterns of literacy practice throughout the different social
classes in America. These classes clearly have different literacy practices which are governed by
institutions. The literacy practices are claimed to not only be patterned by social institutions.
Barton and Hamilton claim that literacy is historically situated (13). What Barton and
Hamilton mean by this claim is that there exist contemporary literacy practices which have taken
influence of past culture practices.
Successfully, Barton and Hamilton reveal the social aspect of literacy. This social aspect
was revealed through the keen use of simplistic facts and logic which was portrayed in six
propositions in their theory. The two have clearly shone a light on literacy and shown its
presence in the social world.

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Works Cited
Barton, David, and Mary Hamilton, ed. Situated Literacies: Reading and Writing in Context.
London: Routledge, 2000. Print.