‘Men’s wit grows according as they encounter what is present.’
(Empedocles)
One method for understanding the changing nature of what we understand as ‘literacy’ comes in the form of New Literacy Studies (NLS). In this chapter I track the emergence and evolution of NLS which, because of its focus on the social elements of ‘reading’ and ‘writing’, is potentially conducive to the Pragmatic method. I also analyse the fragmentation within this area, which runs to a deeper level than merely a fragmentation of research. I critique the reliance of researchers and theorists upon ‘umbrella terms’ and ‘micro-literacies’ in the frameworks and models they produce. Finally, using the work of JISC, a UK government-funded body, as a case study I argue that the work of such bodies, whilst not perfect, is important in the development of an understanding of new forms of literacy. Note that I have purposely avoided inclusion of work by Henry Jenkins and related scholars such as John Seely Brown. Their conceptualisation of Digital Media Literacies appears to focus more on the distinctiveness of the ‘media’ element and less on that of the ‘digital’.
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