ERIC Number: EJ1362430
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-1857
EISSN: EISSN-1469-5812
Literacy and Tactility: An Experience of Writing in "Kuzuhara Koto Nikki" ("Kuzuhara Koto's Diary")
Muroi, Reiko
Educational Philosophy and Theory, v54 n9 p1377-1385 2022
Walter Ong points out that no one can write naturally, because writing is a completely artificial technique we need to acquire through education. The technology of literacy as writing letters begets a dividing line between "literates" and "illiterates," since literacy cannot be acquired otherwise. When we review the early history of literacy, we notice that letter-writing was a specialized technology, and that in its center resided a small number of elites who could write. Thereafter, in the Modern Era, the center of discussion on literacy turned to the issue of the illiterate masses, mainly on how to bring them to literacy through school education. As the interest in popularizing literacy increased, though, another kind of increased interest arose: the interest in literacy education for blind people. On purpose or not, blind people had been excluded or alienated from literature and/or letter-based culture. However, the stronger the power exerted to exclude blind people, the more blind people aspired to write/read letters. Such aspiration and attempts to write/read letters in their own way may establish a distinct touch-centered world of letters and literacy and, importantly, may relativize its sight-centered world counterpart. If so, how will such a practice revise sight-centered literacy and open new horizons? I would like to consider this topic by reviewing its historical background and examining a case of writing practice by Kuzuhara Koto, a blind musician, in 19th century Japan.
Descriptors: Educational Philosophy, Literacy, Literacy Education, Illiteracy, Blindness, Tactual Perception, Musicians, History, Foreign Countries, Diaries, Alphabets, Braille
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Japan
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A