Literacy e complessità

Abstract This contribution discusses a theoretical framework pertaining to the concept of digital literacy. The expression literacy is difficult to translate, as it has many shades of meaning and reflects a long historical, philosophical and educational tradition. Analysis of the international scientific literature reveals that literacy is a complex phenomenon which has attracted attention in many different disciplines. What is meant by literacy, or to be literate in today’s society, remains a matter of heated debate. In the eighties, the main approaches to literacy (techno-psychological, socio-cultural, historical, anthropological) favored the conceptualization of plural literacies, something also referred to as the “literacy crisis”. In response to the disintegration of definitions, the multiplicity of expressions and the fragmentation of research, an effort is currently being made to position different epistemological literacy studies within a theoretical framework. The aim is to encompass the plurality of theoretical and practical approaches in a wider definition, or meta-definition, of literacy. This step is crucial for understanding the latest developments in the field. The problem is not one of formulating a definition or choosing one approach over another, e.g. techno-psychological vs. socio-cultural. Rather, it is a matter of redefining the foundations of research that is investigating literacy as a “complex” phenomenon, where it appears necessary to adopt approaches similar to those used to study “complex systems”.