The Spoken Word - Oral Culture in Britain, 1500-1850

Previous studies on oral culture have traditionally emphasized the contradictions between oral and literate culture, and focussed on individual countries or regions. The essays in this fascinating collection depart from these approaches in several ways. By examining not only English, but also Scottish and Welsh oral culture, they provide the first pan-British study of the subject. The authors also emphasize the ways in which oral and literate culture continued to compliment and inform each other, rather than focusing exclusively on their incompatibility, or on the 'inevitable' triumph of the written word.

Written by leading international scholars from a range of disciplines, Silicon Literacies examine the implications of electronic text.

From role-playing in computer games to eBay to Internet degree programs, this book reveals that being "computer-literate" entails an understanding of how different modalities combine to create meaning. The contributors of this book recognize that in the digital age reading and writing are only a part of what it means to be literate. This book facilitates an understanding of the ways in which new technology influences, shapes and even transforms the concept of literacy.

Neutral Ground: A Political History of Espionage FictionThis unique and perceptive history unravels geopolitical intrigues and reveals how they have influenced the authors who fashioned one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the literate world the spy novel.
Espionage fiction is one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the literate world and, since its widespread acceptance in the early twentieth century, it has sought to pursue the secret politics of Western social order. Drawn from reality, exposing what is generally concealed, it provides a unique glimpse into the darker, more conspiratorial affairs of state through the use of fictional covert actions, double agents, treason, and international intrigues. It is a carefully crafted, clandestine venue wherein the situations are circumscribed, the moods are forever gray, and the heroes if indeed there are heroes generally emerge as ordinary individuals who believe that virtues such as truth and loyalty are simply matters of convenience. People who are, in fact, not that much different from those whom they oppose.

Becoming Literate in the City: The Baltimore Early Childhood Project