Readings

Reading Practices

The way we read is a learned process. In primary school we are very aware of the sound the alphabet makes in forming a word. We then  learn to see the words as one without considering  the individual letters.  The next step in the reading process is comprehension. We are asked questions about the literal meaning of the words we read and we learn to make sense of what we read. As we grow older the reading process becomes a little more involved. The process involves making connections with what goes on in our lives and linking those events to what we read, thus making individual meaning based on our experiences. This reading comprehension is then furthered through applying reading practices.

A reading practice is the process we use to come to an understanding of a text. We use the understanding of a particular concept, ideology or lens, such as "gender", "post-colonialism" or "Marxism" to shape our interpretation of a text. For instance, we learn about the salient features of Marxism and use that understanding to investigate and analyse it from a Marxist perspective, focusing on evidence of class struggle etc.

Types of 'readings' of texts:

• Intended reading: the interpretation that a writer positions readers to adopt.

• Dominant reading: the way the majority of a particular 'readership'/culture is likely to interpret any given text. A dominant reading can change across time and cultures.

• Alternative reading: due to any number of contextual factors, readers may interpret texts in ways that differ from the intended reading of the author.

• Resistant reading: the interpretation arrived at when, likely due to a reader's strongly held personal ideologies, the reader resists the intended reading encouraged by the author