Lydia Boinest English 1102 1/21/14

In Theorizing the space of Literacy Practices, Lesley Bartlett and Dorothy Holland seek to identify the meaning of actor, artifact and figured worlds. In the text a figured world was presented as a set of social norms that include both what is acceptable and unacceptable in a given society. As stated in the article a figured world is socially produced and culturally constructed meaning that a figured world varies from one place to another. A figured world also includes how one should act and present literacy in social or cultural situations. The authors define actors as individuals that go along with, and mirror social norms in a given figured world. Both actors and figured worlds intertwine because without actors to back the fundamentals and practices of a figured world then it would not exist. As stated it is difficult to stray from being an actor in a figured world due to the social influences faced day to day in a society. Artifacts are what back a figured world, they can be a tangible, material objects, literature or even people. The authors pointed out that, Cultural artifacts are essential to the making and remaking of human actors. I found this interesting because without artifacts then actors would have no reference to continue a figured world. The authors concluded that literary practice includes actors using artifacts, social endeavors and rehearsals or such are vital to maintaining a figured world.

Literacy is then defined as not only the ability to read and write, but also the ability to interpret, form ideas and discourses.

Questions: 1. Where does the idea of a figured world end? Can there be a figured world in the classroom and then another in peer groups, or does it just vary culturally? 2. What does the word habitus mean in this article? I understand that it has to do with actors, however it does not correspond with the definitions that I found online. 3. Where does a figured world originate and what is it that makes it stick in a given culture or society?