Reading Beyond the Text

By Doug Buehl,
Madison East High School teacher
Member, Wisconsin State Reading Association

October 2004

Fahrenheit 9/11.” It seems that nearly everyone has something to say about Michael Moore’s controversial documentary, including many people who have not seen the movie. Much attention has focused on Moore himself and how his personal beliefs influence his film-making. To a significant degree, understanding this movie requires a recognition of how the political and social realities of our times affect the delivery of such a message.

Over the years, with movies like “Roger and Me” and “Bowling For Columbine,” Moore has been stridently open in displaying “what he stands for.” Because of this reputation, most viewers already expect a certain point of view from his works. They can “understand” a movie, and accept or reject its premises, by factoring in how Michael Moore sees the world.

Of course, not everyone “sees the world” the way Michael Moore does. Hence, we witness a wide disparity of opinion as to what his movies really mean. So our understanding must also acknowledge that we the viewers also bring a great deal to our construction of meaning. Like Michael Moore, we tap deeply into our personal beliefs and experiences as we develop our interpretations of what others tell us. Much of the discussion of “Fahrenheit 9/11” isn’t really about Michael Moore or President Bush; it’s about ourselves.

Our awareness that messages reflect the perspectives of authors, and that comprehension is influenced by a reader’s personal perspectives, is the basis for what researchers call critical literacy. Critical literacy emphasizes that messages are rarely neutral, and that we receive them through a lens that places our personal stamp on what a text “means.”

The strategy
Strategies that help develop readers who are “text critics” condition students to look beyond a mere surface “meaning” of a text and prompt them to consider a series of questions that can deepen their understanding of what they read.

Step 1: Begin by modeling critical literacy through think-alouds that raise significant questions that probe a text’s “neutrality.” For example, a history textbook passage describing the Lewis and Clark expedition in the early 18th century could provide an excellent moment to raise questions that promote reading from a critical stance (adapted from McLaughlin and DeVoogd, 2004):

• Whose viewpoint is being expressed in this passage? How can you tell? What clues are provided by the author?
  
• What does the author want readers to think? How can you tell? What clues in the text suggest this?
  
• Whose voices are missing? Or silenced? Or discounted? Who are we not hearing from? Are other ways of thinking about this topic discouraged?
  
• What might these missing voices say? What are some alternative perspectives that could be represented?
  
• How does examining this text from a critical stance contribute to your understanding?
  
• What action might you take based on what you learned?
  

Your interactions around these questions with students could reveal a number of critical revelations regarding the Lewis and Clark textbook passage. You may discover that the viewpoint expressed largely reflects a perspective associated with Americans of European heritage, especially those who supported extending the boundaries of the United States westward.

You may notice language that describes the explorers in heroic terms and their achievements as being highly significant. But significant for whom? Who else might have interest in these important historical proceedings? Certainly native peoples who lived in the areas traversed by the expedition. How about British traders centered in Canada who already were active in this region? Or Spanish- speaking communities that populated much of the region south of the explored territory? How might these different groups regard the “facts” of this event? For example, what does it mean to “explore” a place that is already well-known to the people who inhabit it?

As you discuss these thoughts with students, emphasize that what this textbook excerpt “means” depends to a large extent upon who’s telling us about these events and who’s receiving the message. People who bring different perspectives to this historical account may indeed understand this text in very different ways.

Step 2: As you provide students with guided practice in acting as “text critics,” caution against the tendency to become merely cynical readers. Accordingly, in our Lewis and Clark example, the intention is not to conclude that a viewpoint reflecting European-American culture and goals is a wrong message. But it is an incomplete message. Reading with a critical stance cautions students that there may be a number of legitimate viewpoints that are ignored or overlooked.

Critical literacy theorists ask readers to notice whether certain views are “privileged” in a text, leading to the exclusion or rejection of opposing ways of thinking. Model asking follow-up questions that help students access the complexity of some of these issues of authorship, power, and perspective:

• Who decides which viewpoints should be the ones we read about?
  
• Where can we go to access different viewpoints?
  
• Are some viewpoints more justifiable than others? How can we tell?
  
• How does looking at a topic from a variety of viewpoints help us more deeply understand this topic?
  
• How does looking at a topic from a variety of viewpoints help us clarify our personal ideas, thoughts, and beliefs?
  

Step 3: Third, ask students to role-play as they re-read a passage, by assuming an identity that could bring a fresh perspective to the viewpoints articulated in a text. What parts of the text would they say differently? What might they agree with, or disagree with? What new information would they want to include? How would this identity lead them to draw different conclusions about what this text means?

Posted September 30, 2004