ABSTRACT
At its most basic level literacy simply is the ability to read and write in the mother tongue. However, in practice, literacy is riddled with global ideologies and national politics, as it assumes an important place on the global agendas of poverty eradication and sustainable human development. The author discusses the multiple varieties of literacy within the context of varying social, cultural, and political environments that determine the dissemination and uses of reading and writing. After presenting definitions of various kinds of literacies, the author discusses the history of writing, the complex relationship between speech and writing, and the democratization of literacy after the invention of printing. Other topics include theoretical approaches to literacy from the perspective of different disciplines; world literacy and illiteracy; the digital divide; world book production; and the role of libraries.
