ABSTRACT
Contemporary literacy programs make frequent claims to be “empowering” their subjects. Women in particular, but also other groups perceived by national and international agencies to be oppressed and disempowered, are encouraged to attend literacy classes and projects on the promise of “empowerment.” Frequently, however, very little really changes, and although the learners may (sometimes) emerge from the program with increased literacy skills, this does not necessarily lead to increased social or material power. What precisely we mean by power in such contexts is, of course, problematic. The aim of this chapter is to make explicit some of the assumptions about power and literacy that prevail in the world of agencies concerned with programs and also perhaps among practitioners and researchers. This requires a brief statement of the current state of awareness regarding major debates around power and around literacy: I indicate some of the key concepts in both fields, with particular reference to their application to development literacy programs and projects. My aim is to help myself and I hope others to recognize the meanings implicit in our own usages so that we will be in a position to question and challenge them when we see them in practice and/or operationalize them ourselves.
