Subject: books on written language & literacy

john benjamins publishing would like to call your attention to the following new titles in the field of written language & literacy : writing and identity the discoursal construction of identity in academic writing roz ivanic 1997 xiv , 346 pp . studies in written language and literacy , 5 us / canada : cloth : 1 55619 322 x price : us $ 89 . 00 paper : 1 55619 323 8 price : us $ 29 . 95 rest of the world : cloth : 90 272 1797 1 price : nlg 178 paper : 90 272 1798 x price : nlg 60 john benjamins publishing web site : http : / / www . benjamins . com for further information via e-mail : service @ benjamins . com writing is not just about conveying ' content ' but also about the representation of self . ( one of the reasons people find writing difficult is that they do not feel comfortable with the ' me ' they are portraying in their writing . academic writing in particular often poses a conflict of identity for students in higher education , because the 's elf ' which is inscribed in academic discourse feels alien to them . ) the main claim of this book is that writing is an act of identity in which people align themselves with socio-culturally shaped subject positions , and thereby play their part in reproducing or challenging dominant practices and discourses , and the values , beliefs and interests which they embody . the first part of the book reviews recent understandings of social identity , of the discoursal construction of identity , of literacy and identity , and of issues of identity in research on academic writing . the main part of the book is based on a collaborative research project about writing and identity with mature-age students , providing : o a case study of one writer 's dilemmas over the presentation of self ; o a discussion of the way in which writers ' life histories shape their presentation of self in writing ; o an interview-based study of issues of ownership , and of accommodation and resistance to conventions for the presentation of self ; linguistic analysis of the ways in which multiple , often contradictory , interests , values , beliefs and practices are inscribed in discourse conventions , which set up a range of possibilities for self-hood for writers . the book ends with implications of the study for research on writing and identity , and for the learning and teaching of academic writing . the book will be of interest to students and researchers in the fields of social identity , literacy , discourse analysis , rhetoric and composition studies , and to all those concerned to understand what is involved in academic writing in order to provide wider access to higher education . writing development . an interdisciplinary view edited by : clotilde pontecorvo , universita di roma , " la sapienza " , italy 1997 xxxii , 338 pp . studies in written language & literacy , 6 us / canada : cloth : 1 55619 324 6 price : us $ 69 . 00 rest of the world : cloth : 90 272 1799 8 price : nlg 138 john benjamins publishing web site : http : / / www . benjamins . com for further information via e-mail : service @ benjamins . com this volume presents a selection of papers presented at a series of three workshops organized by the network " written language and literacy " as launched by the european science foundation . the main topics making up writing development are : ( 1 ) writing and literacy acquisition : links between speech and writing , with contributions by david r . olson , claire blanche - benveniste , emilia ferreiro , ruth berman , liliana tolchinsky & ana teberosky ; ( 2 ) writing and reading in time and culture , with contributions by collette sirat , francoise desbordes , harmut gunther , peter koch , & jean hebrard : ( 3 ) written language competence in monolingual and bilingual contexts , with contributions by michel fayol & serge mouchon , georges ludi , & ludo verhoeven ; ( 4 ) writing systems , brain structures and languages : a neurolinguistic view , with contributioris by giuseppe cossu , heinz wiimmer & uta frith , & brian butterworth . the volume heads off with an extensive introduction " studying writing and writing acquisition today : a multidisciplinary view " . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - bernadette martinez - keck tel : ( 215 ) 836-1200 publicity / marketing fax : ( 215 ) 836-1204 john benjamins north america e-mail : bernie @ benjamins . com po box 27519 philadelphia pa 19118-0519 check out the john benjamins web site : http : / / www . benjamins . com
