This book links such fields as linguistics, anthropology, sociolinguistics, and education to illustrate how the problem of literacy is embedded in a social and cultural context. The majority of the essays included in this volume are based on original, primary research and bring to light important concerns about the highly political nature of literacy. These concerns, often ignored by the more traditionally oriented educationalists, are the highlights of these essays that explore literacy from a critical perspective. The body of work presented here is relevant not only to individuals whose main focus is the area of literacy studies, but to all those who are concerned about minority disenfranchisement, institutional inequity, and the political, cultural and social dimensions of education.