I just read Princess Academy, a young adult novel, recommended by one of my youth. As a teacher, I read it through different eyes and I was amazed at the way it described literacy development in a mountain village. The desire and passion in one student then transfered to the rest of the village.
Literacy might have changed from the setting of this novel to NCTE definition of 21st century literacties:
Literacy has always been a collection of cultural and communicative practices shared among members of particular groups. As society and technology change, so does literacy. Because technology has increased the intensity and complexity of literate environments, the twenty-first century demands that a literate person possess a wide range of abilities and competencies, many literacies.
Or is it that different?
Does the context change literacy or does literacy shape the social context?