Literacy and Power

The often bloody struggles of Central America have dominated news reports for a long time. Behind the headlines lies an enormous population of the desperately poor, and it is axiomatic that they are rendered even more powerless by widespread illiteracy. What actually counts as literacy is less clear. Archer and Costello describe some of the most exciting and innovative programmes designed to overcome the problem and how, as they worked with many of them, they discovered how varied and controversial they are. El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Ecuador, Mexico, Chile, Bolivia and Guatemala are all included, and for each country the authors have provided a thrilling account of the lives and circumstances of the people who both teach and learn as well as describing the varied forms that literacy teaching, even literacy itself, can take. This book is not only about literacy, but is also a guide to the societies of one of the world's most troubled regions. Originally published in 1990

PrefaceAcknowledgementsGlossary of Foreign WordsI Revolution: What is Popular Education?1. El Salvador, Colomoncagua: Words and Bombs2. Nicaragua, Lechecuagos: Literacy as a Political Crusade3. Nicaragua, Batahola: The Paradox of Revolutionary EducationII Reform: Literacy and Organization4. Honduras, San Antonio de Jura: Co-operative Literacy5. Ecuador, Santa Lucia: Literacy and Human Rights6. Mexico, San Miguel Teotongo: Reading and De-reading, Literacy and Debt7. Chile, Santiago: Breaking the Culture of SilenceIII Reclamation: Literacy and Indigenous Peoples8. Guatemala, Cabrican: The New Frontier9. Bolivia, El Alto: The Language of Power10. Nicaragua's Atlantic Coast, Karata: Miskitu DialogueAppendix: The Life of Paulo FreireAfterwordIndex