A Primer on James G

1. The New Literacy Studies
and the “Social Turn”
James Gee
1999

2. JAMES PAUL GEE
• James Paul Gee received his B.A. in philosophy
from the University of California at Santa
Barbara and both his M.A. and Ph.D in
linguistics from Stanford University.
• He has taught at a number of institutions:
Arizona State University, Hampshire College,
Northeastern University, Boston University, and
currently at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

3. GEE BIO
• Gee has published widely in linguistics,
psychology, education and the social sciences.
• His work over the last decade has focused on
the development of an integrated theory of
language, literacy, and schooling, a theory that
draws on work in socially situated cognition,
socio-cultural approaches to language and
literacy, language development, discourse
studies, critical theory, and applied linguistics.

4. GEE BIO
• Sociolinguistics and Literacies (1990) was one of the
founding documents in the formation of the "New
Literacies Studies", a field devoted to studying language,
learning, and literacy in an integrated way in the full
range of their cognitive, social, and cultural contexts.
• An Introduction to Discourse Analysis (1999) brings
together his work on a methodology for studying
communication in its cultural settings.
• His more recent books deal with video games and
learning. What Video Games Have to Teach Us About
Learning and Literacy (2003) offers 36 reasons why
good video games produce better learning conditions
than many of today's schools.

5. GEE BIO
• His most recent book is entitled Good
Video Games and Good Learning:
Collected Essays (2007).
• Recently his work has continued to
explore his ideas on language, literacy,
and society to deal with the so-called "new
capitalism" and its cognitive, social, and
political implications for literacy and
schooling.

6. GEE BIO
• Situated Language and Learning (2004) places
video games within an overall theory of learning
and literacy and shows how they can help us to
better understand deep human learning and
lead us in thinking about the reform of schools.
• Why Video Games Are Good for Your Soul
(2005), shows how good video games marry
pleasure and learning and have the capacity to
empower people.

7. Connections between “New Capitalism”
& Our Schools
(follow the hyperlink, please)
• Cooperative
Learning
Learning • Collaboration
• Localized Literacy
Teaching
• Cooperative
Learning
• Collaboration US/World
• Localized Literacy Economy
• Google’s Culture

8. Economy & Schools
Old Capitalism New Capitalism

9. Economy & Schools
Old Capitalism New Capitalism

10. DEFINING NEW CAPITALISM
• Gee writes, “[Sociotechnical designing] is heavily
social and contextual and semiotic*” (p. 6).
*of or pertaining to signs
• Activity: Put this idea into practice by designing a
slogan and logo for new capitalism. We will
discuss our slogans next class.

11. My Slogan for New Capitalism is . . .

12. PARADOXES OF NEW CAP
Q: What prevents workers from A) using their knowledge to
critique the company B) leaving with their knowledge.
What makes sure knowledge is C) passed on within the
company?
A:

13. THE NEW LITERACY STUDIES
AND THE “SOCIAL TURN”
• The New Literacy Studies (NLS) was one
movement among many that took part in a larger
"social turn" away from a focus on individuals
and their "private" minds and towards group
interaction and social practice.
• The NLS are based on the view that reading and
writing only make sense when studied in the
context of social and cultural practices of which
they are but a part.

14. Pros & Cons of NEW CAPITALISM
(what does Gee have to say?)
Pros Cons

15. NEW CAPITALISM
(questions for you to think about)
• What is the role of education?
• What does it have to do with literacy?
• What does it have to do with you?

16. DISCOURSE(s): Language of the New
Capitalism & The New Literacy Studies
• Ways of talking, writing, acting with and toward
people and things.
• Circulated and sustained within various texts,
artifacts, images, etc.
• “normal” or “natural” vs. “deviant” or “marginal”

17. DISCOURSE(s): Language of the New
Capitalism & The New Literacy Studies
Enactive Recognition
Work Work

18. HOW GEE RELATES
VIDEO GAMES TO LITERACY
Forget about politics, forget about “getting
tenure,” forget about “the rules” you
explicitly & implicitly have to follow.
What would your ideal school be like?
Here’s what Gee’s would look like.
(please view the ENTIRE clip)

19. FINAL THOUGHTS
• How does Gee fit into our other class
readings?
• How would Baldwin, Plato, et al. respond
to Gee?