Abstract of

Reading as Situated Language: A Sociocognitive Perspective

James Paul Gee

From the article's introduction: “My main goal here is to situate reading within a broad perspective that integrates work on cognition, language, social interaction, society, and culture.... I argue that such a broad perspective on reading is essential if we are to speak to issues of access and equity in schools and workplaces. I also argue that reading and writing cannot be separated from speaking, listening, and interacting, on the one hand, or using language to think about and act on the world, on the other. Thus, it is necessary to start with a viewpoint on language (oral and written) itself, a viewpoint that ties language to embodied action in the material and social world.”

[Note: This article is reprinted in Theoretical Models and Processes of Reading, www.reading.org/publications/bbv/books/bk502/, and Preparing Reading Professionals, www.reading.org/publications/bbv/books/bk564/.]

Abstract from Gee, J. (2001, May). Reading as Situated Language: A Sociocognitive Perspective. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 44(8), 714–725. doi: 10.1598/JAAL.44.8.3