Dr. Janet Maybin trained as a social anthropologist, and has written extensively for Open University UK modules on literacy and English language and language arts. A leading proponent of linguistic ethnographic methodology, she researches and writes on adults’ and children’s informal language practices, currently focussing on creativity and voice. Her most recent edited book is Narrative, Language and Creativity: Contemporary Approaches (2016, The Open University Press)
In this monograph I examine how ten and eleven year-old children use language and literacy practi... more In this monograph I examine how ten and eleven year-old children use language and literacy practices among themselves in school, inside and outside the classroom, to construct knowledge and identities. Combining ethnography with a Bakhtinian analysis of longitudinal recordings of children's dialogues, I focus in particular on their reproduction and framing of other people's voices, especially in conversational anecdotes. The book examines how older children use language together to explore the moral order of their social world, mediate their induction into institutional practices and explore their own identities.
This obituary focuses on Brian Street's academic and teaching legacy in the field of literacy st... more This obituary focuses on Brian Street's academic and teaching legacy in the field of literacy studies and literacy in education, as it unfolded over the course of his career. Brian was my PhD supervisor in the 1990s, and became a life-long friend.
This article maps out and reviews work on textual trajectories and related concepts from sociolin... more This article maps out and reviews work on textual trajectories and related concepts from sociolinguistics, linguistic ethnography, discourse and literacy studies. The first part of the article argues that work on entextualisation and recontextualisation, and their incorporation in recent research on textual chains or trajectories, contributes to a new language of description which conceptualises texts in dynamic terms while still maintaining a sense of their coherence and durability. The article traces how conceptions of dialogicality and recontextualisation have been used to develop transcontextual approaches to analysis which have highlighted the ideological work of textual movement and resemiotisation. It argues that envisaging linked series of entextualisations and recontextualisations as institutionally consequential trajectories not only illuminates micro-level practices, but also indicates their dynamic interconnection with macro-level institutional processes and ideologies. In this sense, the concept of textual trajectories contributes to meso-level theorising of the interrelationship of language with social life. Examples of research from institutional contexts are reviewed to examine how textual trajectories are used to produce specialised knowledge, the instantiation of institutional procedures and the articulation of participant positionings and identities.
About the book: This volume examines ideas about creativity and various approaches to its study. ... more About the book: This volume examines ideas about creativity and various approaches to its study. It explores the argument that we use language creatively and the link between creativity and literary language. Chapters examine poetic language, narrative and ...
The reader is organized around four key themes: Talk and the Processes of Teaching and Learning; ... more The reader is organized around four key themes: Talk and the Processes of Teaching and Learning; Literacy and Education; Discourse and Identity; Multimodal Communication. As a collection, it * Explores both theory and empirical research * Illustrates a range of ...
About the book: This volume examines ideas about creativity and various approaches to its study. ... more About the book: This volume examines ideas about creativity and various approaches to its study. It explores the argument that we use language creatively and the link between creativity and literary language. Chapters examine poetic language, narrative and performance in ...
Abstract: This collection of essays explores the diversity of contemporary English language use, ... more Abstract: This collection of essays explores the diversity of contemporary English language use, both spoken and written, around the world. The first chapters focus on the use of English within various kinds of interpersonal communication, and later chapters look at ...
Childhood is a series, co-published with The Open University which represents a coherent and inte... more Childhood is a series, co-published with The Open University which represents a coherent and integrated treatment to a wide range of topics and approaches, which will have a relevance to courses in childhood studies; sociology; psychology; anthropology and cultural studies. ...
In this monograph I examine how ten and eleven year-old children use language and literacy practi... more In this monograph I examine how ten and eleven year-old children use language and literacy practices among themselves in school, inside and outside the classroom, to construct knowledge and identities. Combining ethnography with a Bakhtinian analysis of longitudinal recordings of children's dialogues, I focus in particular on their reproduction and framing of other people's voices, especially in conversational anecdotes. The book examines how older children use language together to explore the moral order of their social world, mediate their induction into institutional practices and explore their own identities.
This obituary focuses on Brian Street's academic and teaching legacy in the field of literacy st... more This obituary focuses on Brian Street's academic and teaching legacy in the field of literacy studies and literacy in education, as it unfolded over the course of his career. Brian was my PhD supervisor in the 1990s, and became a life-long friend.
This article maps out and reviews work on textual trajectories and related concepts from sociolin... more This article maps out and reviews work on textual trajectories and related concepts from sociolinguistics, linguistic ethnography, discourse and literacy studies. The first part of the article argues that work on entextualisation and recontextualisation, and their incorporation in recent research on textual chains or trajectories, contributes to a new language of description which conceptualises texts in dynamic terms while still maintaining a sense of their coherence and durability. The article traces how conceptions of dialogicality and recontextualisation have been used to develop transcontextual approaches to analysis which have highlighted the ideological work of textual movement and resemiotisation. It argues that envisaging linked series of entextualisations and recontextualisations as institutionally consequential trajectories not only illuminates micro-level practices, but also indicates their dynamic interconnection with macro-level institutional processes and ideologies. In this sense, the concept of textual trajectories contributes to meso-level theorising of the interrelationship of language with social life. Examples of research from institutional contexts are reviewed to examine how textual trajectories are used to produce specialised knowledge, the instantiation of institutional procedures and the articulation of participant positionings and identities.
About the book: This volume examines ideas about creativity and various approaches to its study. ... more About the book: This volume examines ideas about creativity and various approaches to its study. It explores the argument that we use language creatively and the link between creativity and literary language. Chapters examine poetic language, narrative and ...
The reader is organized around four key themes: Talk and the Processes of Teaching and Learning; ... more The reader is organized around four key themes: Talk and the Processes of Teaching and Learning; Literacy and Education; Discourse and Identity; Multimodal Communication. As a collection, it * Explores both theory and empirical research * Illustrates a range of ...
About the book: This volume examines ideas about creativity and various approaches to its study. ... more About the book: This volume examines ideas about creativity and various approaches to its study. It explores the argument that we use language creatively and the link between creativity and literary language. Chapters examine poetic language, narrative and performance in ...
Abstract: This collection of essays explores the diversity of contemporary English language use, ... more Abstract: This collection of essays explores the diversity of contemporary English language use, both spoken and written, around the world. The first chapters focus on the use of English within various kinds of interpersonal communication, and later chapters look at ...
Childhood is a series, co-published with The Open University which represents a coherent and inte... more Childhood is a series, co-published with The Open University which represents a coherent and integrated treatment to a wide range of topics and approaches, which will have a relevance to courses in childhood studies; sociology; psychology; anthropology and cultural studies. ...
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Books by Janet Maybin
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