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Informed by fieldwork among Baptist Lahu in northern Thailand, this dissertation explores the concept of ‘literacy’ as it is constructed in discourses within Thailand, in international contexts, and in anthropological theory, illustrating the impact of this construction on those who are perceived as “without-writing” In order to understand the value that written language and the ability to read and write have in a Lahu context, and perhaps in other contexts as well, I consider two very different modes within which human beings relate to written language. On the one hand, written language is a medium of communication, a technology for inscribing and deciphering meaningful messages. At the same time, but separate from its action as a tool, written language is a possession belonging to a group, marking them as people with writing, in opposition to those without writing. The ability to read and write a language does not lead, as it logically might, to the status of possessing writing. The example of this particular case illustrates the indelibility of the “without-writing” label.
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