Agent-based literacy theory

he pace of change in communication technologies during the previous decade has made the concept of literacy a moving target (Leu, 2000). One of the most significant changes is the capacity of online texts to engage readers in literal rather than metaphorical interaction (Reinking, 2001). Although traditional theories of reading recognize the complex character of literacy (e.g., Rosenblatt, 1994, 1995, 2004) and researchers are exploring the capacity of technology to be responsive (Leu & Hillinger, 1994) and supportive (Anderson-Inman & Horney, 1998), I argue in this essay that even the most forward-thinking theories do not adequately prepare us for the interactive text that is already reshaping literacy online, and that there is a need to re-evaluate some of our most fundamental ideas about literacy, readers, and text. Rosenblatt likens reading to Searle’s (1969) concept of a “speech act” (pp. 22–26), a concept that, unlike more general terms such as speech or language, emphasizes the pragmatic, transactional, and “human element” (Rosenblatt, 1994, p. 41) in understanding literacy and the literary work. Unlike a speech act, however, where two active agents are usually involved, in reading there is only a single active agent. In Rosenblatt’s words, “the author has dropped out. Only his text and the reader remain” (p. 20). As a result, “the reader finds it necessary to construct the speaker, the author...as part of what he decodes from the text” (p. 20). This assignment of readers to an active role and written language to a more passive role is not surprising. Readers have attitudes, objectives, and values that influence their decisions and actions. Written language expresses attitudes, objectives, and values, but it does not act on a literacy environment as human readers do. A central thesis I develop in this essay is that electronic environments have the capacity to transform written language into a dynamic agent that can modify the reading environment within which it operates. Moreover, although some theorists (e.g., Landow, 1992) promote online literacy as an ally in challenging the independence and authority of text, the disruptive power of Internet worms and e-mail viruses demonstrates that technology can also empower author and text at the expense of readers. The challenge we face as educators is to prepare students for reading environments that are more dynamic than even the most radical theories of