Critical Issues: Reading and Responding to Literature at the Level of Activity

Abstract

Drawing on the sociocultural activity theory of learning, this report defines the components of activity systems shaping readers' responses to literature - the components of object/outcome, tools, rules, roles, and community change. It posits that readers respond within their participation as members of various activity systems - book clubs, classroom, chat rooms, etc. - systems shaped by these components. It also posits that readers ideally learn to frame characters' actions at the level of activity - as part of characters' participation in activity systems portrayed in texts. This framework is applied to responses of “advanced” and “regular” high school students, operating within an ability-grouping system, to a story about a “regular” student going on afield trip with “advanced” students. It is also applied to responses of teachers enrolled in a graduate writing methods course in reaction to a story about a teacher's feedback to an essay; the teachers' responses reflected their participation in the systems of the course itself, their own teaching, and their families.

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