ABSTRACT
Social Studies as New Literacies in a Global Society is based on two powerful, interrelated ideas: 1. Social studies and literacy education are about reading the word and the world (Freire & Macedo, 1987) and 2. Our knowledge and understanding about the world are increasingly mediated through texts. This is especially apparent in our global society and the new work-order of fast capitalism (Agger, 1989, 2004; Holmes, 2000) as emerging digital technologies, multimedia, and multimodal texts (images, graphics, sound, print, etc.) are part and parcel of transnational fl ows of people, goods, and ideas. To function in an increasingly complex and relentlessly changing world, students need to learn and be able to use new sets of literacies that will prepare them for new economic realities and workplaces and diverse communities and cultures. The myriad and uneven changes accompanying globalization have signifi cant implications for work, citizenship, and education.
