ABSTRACT
As what we mean by literacy changes (as it will), specific arguments about progress and decline will prove less instructive than an historical understanding of the process itself—an understanding of where our notions of being literate, or reading, and of writing come from, and how and why they are likely to evolve. Only such an understanding can provide an adequate basis for discussing the larger issues of language and public policy. To argue about the impact of computers on literacy otherwise is akin to designing buildings and bridges without a concern for the geological forces actively reshaping the earth’s crust. As educators and citizens, we may not be able to alter the course of history by our own efforts, but like prudent architects and engineers we can survey the terrain, locating the bedrock that can provide the foundation of sound pedagogic practices and social structures.
