Situated Literacies is a rich and varied collection of key writings from leading international scholars in the field of literacy. Each contribution, written in a clear, accessible style, makes the link between literacies in specific contexts and broader social practices.

Detailed ethnographic studies of a wide variety of specific situations, all involving real texts and lived practices, are balanced with general claims about the nature of literacy. Contributors address a coherent set of issues:

* the visual and material aspects of literacy

* concepts of time and space in relation to literacy

* the functions of literacies in shaping and sustaining identities in communities of practice

* the relationship between texts and the practices associated with their use

the role of discourse analysis on literacy studies

These studies, along with a foreword by Denny Taylor, make a timely and important contribution to literacy theory and suggest directions for the further development of the field. Situated Literacies is essential reading for anyone involved in literary education.