INTERVIEW WITH H. GRAFF & B. STREET

You've developed your inaugural works almost at the same time -the 1970's -, although in different perspectives, historical and anthropological.The results of your works, to the 19 th century in Canada [The Literacy Myth: Literacy and Social Structure in the Nineteenth Century (1979, 1991), by Harvey J. Graff] or for the 70's in Iran [Literacy in Theory and Practice (1984), by Brian Street], had great impact in the literacy studies' field.Both helped to overcome the first generation of studies, such as Jack Goody and Eric Havelock's works, by putting literacy as a phenomenon that can only be understood in context.Your studies also helped not dichotomize orality and writing and to understand that literacy is not always related to the individual or social progress.In this sense, the concepts of literacy myth and the autonomous versus ideological models have, for scholars who came after you, great relationships.For us, you would be seen then as two leading researchers of a generation that would change the face of literacy studies.How do you see this relationship between your works today?At the time you developed them, did you have this awareness that they were making a revolution in the field of literacy studies?This is our first question. Harvey Graff:The Literacy Myth was a historical conjuncture.It reflects the coming together of several currents of the post-World War II period, but in particular developments of the 1960's.First of all, it was shaped by my own growing up.I remember very well the politics of the 1960's.In fact, I have never eaten grapes since I boycotted grapes with Cesar Chavez 1 in the 1960's.I protested against Vietnam, I marched for civil rights.My teachers, particularly in the university, were very encouraging of crossing different fields of study, of being critical, and by being critical the lasting legacy for me was always asking questions.I was taught that good questions are more important than answers.Answers are temporary.So part of the politics and civil rights struggle was the rediscovery that for many young people schools were failing.They were not taught either a basic literacy or higher levels of abilities to use literacy (or multiple literacies).This is true for many students (in the United States but not only in the U.S.), particularly minority students, but also for students from the middle class as well.So together, the radical politics, the protests and the discovery of the problems in school shaped me and my scholarship.The key people I read in those days were Jonathan Kozol 2 , and I think his first book, Death at an Early Age, was his best work, long before we were aware of the Cuban style literacy campaigns or the work of Paulo Freire, which was another influence.

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