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D.Litt. et Phil. (Library & Information Science) / One of the characteristics of publishing in South Africa is that it does not reflect the demographic make-up of South Africa. Publishing in South Africa has been largely financed and controlled by whites and little effort until recently has been expended on the incipient black reader. This has contributed to the lack of a reading culture amongst black people in South Africa. Oral cultures or even cultures with residual amorality Her from Western literate societies. These differences affect cultural products, such as stories, and responses to cultural products. Readers whose norms and expectations of formal discourse are governed by residual oral mindset relate to a text quite differently from readers whose sense of style is fundamentally textual. When an author writes, he postulates an audience. He has to know the tradition - the intertextuality - in which he is working. He can then create fictional roles that the reader is willing and able to play. It is not easy to get into a reader's mind, but it is not an impossibility if both the reader and writer are familiar with the 1iterary tradition in which they work, whether this tradition is oral or literate. There are major differences between an oral and literate culture in their thought processes, perceptions of the world, narrative structures and understanding and response to literature. This must affect cultural accessibility of text. An oral culture, such as black South Africans, will look for different structures, characters and types of discourse in their literature.

M.A. (Library Science) / Children's literature transmits values regarded as important by society and is an important means of socialisation. It will tend to reflect those· values regarded as important and fundamental to the dominant social class. Alternative values and the questioning of traditional values only takes place in children's literature when society in general begins to question its values. Reading is a transactional process. Meaning is not "contained in the text" but the result of interaction between the reader and the text. The reader's cultural background and attitudes will play an important role in determining how a text will be understood. Children from diverse backgrounds will not necessarily understand a text in the same way, as they bring their background to the text and understand it or interpret it in the light of that background or schema. Values are the foundation on which people base their actions, beliefs and attitudes. Each culture develops its own value system in terms of which values will be ranked in order of importance. Through socialisation these value systems will be passed on to new generations...

While there exists substantial research on struggling and developmental readers, few research-practitioners have sought to examine the histories and circumstances that result in strong readers. This study drew upon the reading autobiographies of doctoral students in an English Education program at an Ivy League institution, in order to discover what can be learned from first-hand narrative accounts of their reading lives about the early literacy experiences, reading practices, family, community, school and cultural influences of a group of “strong” adult readers. Also examined for comparative and contrasting data are the reading lives of remedial and honors first-year college composition students at a 2-year community college. An understanding of how the environments, people, institutions, circumstances, and texts encountered in the literacy lives of the three different groups studied here can assist literacy educators in bridging theory with practice for the teaching of reading in early grades and for the teaching of college-level reading in first-year college writing classes. A central term and concept to help explain the trajectory of the reading lives of the populations studied here was Deborah Brandt’s (1998) theory of “sponsors of literacy.” Brandt’s terminology and the notion of sponsorship along with a sociocultural theoretical framework are used to interpret the reading autobiographies in this study. Methods employed were based on Connelly and Clandinin’s narrative inquiry approach, a methodology steeped in the richness of the storied lives of the participants. The three patterns that emerged in the strong readers’ memories were: (a) being read to in the home prior to school age; (b) dichotomous attitudes toward in-school and out-of-school reading, especially around the middle school years; and (c) evidence of firm productive habits of mind toward complex reading that extends into the higher education years. The early literacy sponsorship and productive habits of mind were less evidenced in the remedial population. The findings of certain common characteristics and practices in the backgrounds of strong readers, many of which were not present at the same level in the remedial readers, can help literacy educators and caregivers re-examine their role as literacy sponsors and offer approaches for how we might sponsor literacy differently to create strong readers at any stage of their education.

This dissertation uses the reading patterns of New York’s earliest elites, including a significant portion of the founding fathers, who checked out books from the New York Society Library (NYSL), to evaluate the shifting meanings of political thought, affiliation, and action in the years between the ratification of the Constitution and the War of 1812. The reading data come from two charging ledgers spanning two periods –1789 to 1792, and 1799 to 1806 – during which a new country was built, relations with foreign nations defined, and contestation over the character of a new democracy was intense. Using novel combinations of text and network analysis, I explore the political nature of reading and the extent to which social, economic, and political positions overlapped with what people read. In the process, I identify the key social and cultural dimensions on which New York, and by extension, American, elite society was politically stratified in its early years.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-26T13:44:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 2648710 bytes, checksum: 31b783d60505d4c1bd00371444e0d36b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-06-05 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This research aims to map the profile of the current reader reflecting on the social practice of reading and the role of public libraries as social spaces where books circulate. In addition to this, we seek to understand the role of reading as a cultural practice. The issue was guided by the fact that literature is a citizen's right and a benefit to be shared, so society should be concerned with the readers development. The approach was guided by the Sociology and History of Reading and the review of the theories related to culture in the contemporary society. To clarify what was proposed, we used the Municipal Library Baptista Caetano d' Almeida , in São João del-Rei/MG as a place of observation and data collection to respond to the raised queries . When developing the proposed perspectives, data were collected through the electronic system of the Municipal Library loan bank; through interviews with the director , librarian and library assistants; and a questionnaire which was answered by users from Baptista Caetano Library. The results showed that it is not precisely possible to define the profile of the current reader, but this has its outlines, probably, different from those already known or crystallized in the past. What can be affirmed is that reading as a social and cultural practice receives influences of a media, market and globalized society. Therefore, the democratization of reading as a cultural benefit becomes important for people‟s inclusion and social mobility. / Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo mapear o perfil do leitor atual refletindo sobre a prática social da leitura e a função das Bibliotecas Públicas como espaços sociais onde circulam os livros. Além disso, busca-se compreender o lugar da leitura como prática cultural. Norteou a questão o fato de que a literatura é um direito do cidadão e um bem a ser compartilhado, portanto a sociedade deveria se preocupar com a formação de leitores. A abordagem se guiou pela Sociologia e História da Leitura e pela verificação de teorias ligadas à cultura na contemporaneidade. A fim de elucidar o proposto, utilizou-se a Biblioteca Municipal Baptista Caetano d‟Almeida, em São João del- Rei/MG, como local de observação e coleta de dados para responder às indagações suscitadas. No desenvolvimento das perspectivas propostas, foram coletados dados através do sistema eletrônico de empréstimos da Biblioteca Municipal; de entrevistas com coordenador, bibliotecária e auxiliares de biblioteca; de questionário respondido pelos usuários da Baptista Caetano. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que ainda não é possível definir com precisão o perfil do leitor atual, mas este tem contornos, provavelmente, diferentes daqueles já conhecidos ou cristalizados no passado. O que se pode afirmar é que a leitura enquanto prática social e cultural recebe influências de uma sociedade globalizada, mercadológica e midiatizada. Portanto, a democratização da leitura enquanto bem cultural torna-se importante para a inclusão e ascensão social das pessoas.

A presente tese analisa as práticas de leitura de estudantes de Cursos Superiores de Tecnologia de uma instituição pública especializada em Educação Profissional e Tecnológica, investigando em que medida os contextos sociocultural e acadêmico atuam sobre essas práticas. A fundamentação teórica baseia-se, principalmente, na Sociologia da Leitura, a partir dos estudos de Horellou-Lafarge e Segré (2010), Chartier (1999a, 1999b, 2001, 2011), Bourdieu (2011, 2015), Petit (2009a, 2009b), Zilberman (1999, 2001, 2012), Escarpit (1968), Candido (2000), Darnton (2010), Manguel (1997), Aguiar (2007) Abreu (2001, 2015) e Carlino (2017), complementada pela perspectiva cognitivo-sociológica de teóricos como Giasson (2000), Marcuschi (1999, 2004, 2008), Paviani (2006, 2013), Kleiman (2013) e Gabriel (2005). A pesquisa, de caráter descritivo e explicativo e motivada pela experiência empírica enquanto docente de Língua Portuguesa e Literatura, deu-se a partir de um estudo de caso com estudantes de cinco Cursos Superiores de Tecnologia do Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Rio Grande do Sul – Campus Bento Gonçalves, com aplicação de questionários, entrevistas e testes de leitura. Ao longo da tese, demonstra-se que não apenas o contexto sociocultural, como a origem social, as condições econômicas, a trajetória escolar, as atividades sociais e culturais de que os estudantes participam atua sobre as suas práticas de leitura, mas também que o contexto acadêmico possui fundamental importância na configuração dessas práticas, condicionando leituras, restringindo ou promovendo o acesso a determinados gêneros textuais, favorecendo a utilização de um ou outro suporte de leitura. No entanto, apesar de sua relevância, os contextos sociocultural e acadêmico revelam-se condicionantes, e não determinantes das práticas de leitura dos sujeitos, pois, sendo elas constituintes da ação humana, mostram-se sempre dinâmicas e flexíveis. Os resultados evidenciam que as práticas de leitura dos estudantes atendem a necessidades pragmáticas do cotidiano, priorizando textos curtos de tipologia expositiva, e ocorrendo principalmente em suportes digitais, além da leitura com vistas a atender às exigências dos componentes curriculares do curso superior, com destaque para o gênero artigo científico. A leitura de literatura ficcional não constitui uma atividade consolidada e perene entre as práticas socioculturais dos sujeitos pesquisados, sendo que o próprio Curso Superior de Tecnologia não favorece ou estimula essa prática. Além disso, a característica de estudantestrabalhadores dos sujeitos pesquisados implica não apenas menor disposição para os estudos, como também menos tempo disponível para as leituras acadêmicas e de lazer, compreendida aí a literatura ficcional, interferindo nos níveis de competência leitora. Finalmente, como intervenção prática, propõe-se a democratização da leitura no Ensino Superior Tecnológico a partir de duas vias: a) auxiliando os estudantes na compreensão dos textos que circulam no contexto acadêmico; e b) ampliando a diversidade de gêneros textuais lidos pelos estudantes, incluindo a literatura ficcional. / The present thesis analyzes the reading practices of students of Technology Degree Courses of a public institution specializing in Professional and Technological Education, investigating to what extent the sociocultural and academic contexts act on these practices. The theoretical foundation is based mainly on the Sociology of Reading, from the studies of Horellou-Lafarge e Segré (2010), Chartier (1999a, 1999b, 2001, 2011), Bourdieu (2011, 2015), Petit (2009a, 2009b), Zilberman (1999, 2001, 2012), Escarpit (1968), Candido (2000), Darnton (2010), Manguel (1997), Aguiar (2007) Abreu (2001, 2015) e Carlino (2017), complemented by the cognitive-sociological perspective of Giasson (2000), Marcuschi (1999, 2004, 2008), Paviani (2006, 2013), Kleiman (2013) e Gabriel (2005). The research is descriptive and explanatory and motivated by empirical experience as a Portuguese and Literature teacher. It was based on a case study with students of five Technology Degree Courses of the Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Rio Grande do Sul – Campus Bento Gonçalves. During data collection, questionnaires, interviews and reading tests were applied. Throughout the thesis, it was observed that not only the sociocultural context, such as social origin, economic conditions, school trajectory, social and cultural activities that students participate in act on their reading practices, but also the academic context has fundamental importance in the configuration of these practices, conditioning readings, restricting or promoting access to certain textual genres, favoring the use of one or another reading support. However, in spite of their relevance, sociocultural and academic contexts are conditioning, not determinant, of the individuals' reading practices, being constituents of human action, and also, they are always dynamic and flexible. The results emphasize that students' reading practices meet the pragmatic needs of daily life, prioritizing short texts of expository typology, and occurring mainly in digital media, in addition to reading in order to meet the requirements of the curricular components of the degree course, especially scientific papers.The reading of fictional literature does not constitute a consolidated and perennial activity among the sociocultural practices of the individuals studied, and the Technology Degree Course does not favor or stimulate this practice. Besides, the individuals studied are student-workers, it involves not only less willingness to study, but also less time available for academic and leisure readings, including fictional literature, interfering in the levels of reading competence. Finally, as a practical intervention, we propose the democratization of reading in Technological Higher Education in two ways: a) helping students to understand the texts that circulate in the academic context; and b) broadening the diversity of textual genres read by students, including fictional literature.