Volume 9 Number 2: Literature, Literacy and Spirituality

Guest Editor: Dr Mark A. Pike, Leeds University, UK

Editors:
Clive Erricker, County Inspector for Religious Education, Hampshire, UK Jane Erricker, King Alfred's College, Winchester, UK Cathy Ota, Education Research Centre, University of Brighton, UK

Raising children’s levels of literacy is a global priority but what does it mean for a child to be literate and what is the nature of the relation between literacy and spirituality? What is spiritual literacy? What is literate spirituality? Children’s spiritual and moral development is often related to texts and language as well as the creation and exchange of meanings but we need to know more. Interdisciplinary papers for this edition may include, but should not be restricted to, discussion of:

• the relation of reading and writing to children’s spiritual and moral development
• spiritual/moral development and ‘personal growth’ through English
• morality, truth-telling and worldview in modern foreign languages education
• the impact of literacy initiatives upon children’s reading in RE
• arts education and spiritual/moral experience and response
• spirituality and the rational/objectives-based approach of literacy education
• the effects of the emphasis upon literacy on spirituality across the curriculum
• ‘spiritual literacy’: its meaning, significance, acquisition and interpretation
• ‘literate spirituality’: the place of texts and language in our spiritual/moral lives
• the spirituality of reading and the process of reading in spiritual formation
• critical literacy related to motivation, spiritual desire and moral perspective
• functional literacy and the reading of texts in different faith communities
• hermeneutics and how communities of readers influence interpretation
• hermeneutics and the relation between application and interpretation
• the special place of poetry (writing and reading) in children’s inner lives
• the reading stances, patterns and processes conducive to spiritual growth
• spirituality and reading as a social as well as individual transaction
• language and meaning making/ the significance of assessing literacy/literature
• how children read and respond to sacred texts and religious writings
• how spiritual/moral growth can be fostered through the reading of literary texts

Succinct papers of 2000 words (as well as the usual 4000-6000 words) are invited in order to include an eclectic range of scholarly perspectives. All papers, invited or not, will be subject to academic peer review and should be submitted no later than December 31st 2003. Earlier contributions are welcome and should be submitted to both contacts below.

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