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Carter, Shannon. The Way Literacy Lives: Rhetorical Dexterity and Basic Writing Instruction. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2008. viii + 198 pages.
The Way Literacy Lives: Rhetorical Dexterity and Basic Writing Instruction, by Shannon Carter, presents a groundbreaking new perspective to Basic Writing Studies and to the field of Rhetoric and Composition. Drawing especially from the theoretical perspectives of Gee, Street, Brandt, Seife and Hawisher, Adler-Kassner and Harrington, and others, Carter envisions a pedagogy of "rhetorical dexterity," "a pedagogical approach that develops in students the ability to effectively read, understand, manipulate, and negotiate the cultural and linguistic codes of a new community of practice based on a relatively accurate assessment of another, more familiar one" (14). Carter's goal is to facilitate an environment in which students can use what they already know in order to learn what they need to know to succeed in Basic Writing courses and other academic settings.
The structure of Carter's argument offers a cogent example of her theoretical and pedagogical approach. Her work demonstrates a progressive journey, a kind of Pilgrim's Progress, through the theories and practices of Basic Writing and New Literacy Studies. Her six chapter titles, listed here in chronological order, provide a clear map through the terrain: "The Way Literacy Tests," "The Way Literacy Oppresses," "The Way Literacy Liberates," "The Way Literacy Stratifies," "The Way Literacy (Re)produces," "The Way Literacy Lives." A thorough literature review is woven throughout the body of the text, and the reader will find copious endnotes and a thorough bibliography that provide both experienced and novice scholars with areas for further study.
Carter also includes classroom narratives that demonstrate the ways she puts theory into practice - and 'the ways in which she interrogates her own practice in order to better facilitate student learning. In addition, Carter introduces personal stories that illustrate the very different ways in which she and her brother...