Before Writing by Gunther Kress
Gunther Kress argues for a radical reappraisal of the phenomenon of literacy, and hence for a profound shift in educational practice. Through close attention to the variety of objects which children constantly produce (drawings, cuttings-out, 'writings' and collages), Kress suggests a set of principles which reveal the underlying coherence of children's actions; actions which allow us to connect them with attempts to make meaning before they acquire language and writing. This book provides fundamental challenges to commonly held assumptions about both language and literacy, thought and action. It places these challenges within the context of speculation about the abilities and dispositions essential for children as young adults, and calls for the radical decentring of language in educational theory and practice.'A call for a fundamental change in educationProvocatively, he defines school as a place where teachers insist the world can only be known through the abstractions of written language. His book shows the fascinating ways in which children express and exchange meaning on their progress to literacy.' - New Scientist
'Before Writing has radical implications both for linguistic theory and for educational practice. It calls into question the accepted focus on written language as a privileged system of representation.' - Journal of Sociolinguistics
The Editors: Carey Jewitt is a researcher at the Institute of Education, University of London, and an editor of the journal Visual Communication. She has written widely on multimodal learning and teaching. Her recent publications include Multimodal Teaching and Learning: The Rhetorics of the Science Classroom (2001) with G. Kress, J. Ogborn, and C. Tsatsarelis and A Handbook of Visual Analysis (2001) co-edited with T. van Leeuwen.
Gunther Kress is Professor of Education and English at the Institute of Education, University of London. He has an interest in the interrelations in contemporary texts of different modes of communication and their effects on forms of learning and knowing. His recent publications include Reading Images (1996) with T. van Leeuwen; Before Writing: Rethinking the Paths to Literacy (1997); Multimodal Discourse (2001) with T. van Leewuen; and Literacy in the New Media Age (2002).
Gunther Kress is Professor of Education and English at the Institute of Education, University of London. He has an interest in the interrelations in contemporary texts of different modes of communication and their effects on forms of learning and knowing. His recent publications include Reading Images (1996) with T. van Leeuwen; Before Writing: Rethinking the Paths to Literacy (1997); Multimodal Discourse (2001) with T. van Leewuen; and Literacy in the New Media Age (2002).
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780415138055 |
| ISBN 10 | 0415138051 |
| Title | Before Writing |
| Author | Gunther Kress |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis Ltd |
| Year published | 1996-12-19 |
| Number of pages | 198 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |