Writing, action, and autonomy in linguistics and history: an interdisciplinary dialogue on the social uses of writing

Abstract

Studies in literacies acknowledge that the uses of writing depend on specific contexts, activities and purposes. This assumption has fostered, in research on academic writing, ethnographic approaches grounded in participant observation. Recent studies, however, highlight the relevance of discursive approaches in literacy research. These approaches emphasize the role of history and the historicity of writing, that is, elements that elude present-day observation and intentional acts. Core themes in literacy studies are thus evoked, such as the non-autonomy of subjects and the performativity of language. Interdisciplinary in nature, this work draws on the discipline of history to address the historicity and discursivity of the social uses of writing. It aims to present, through an interview with Dinah Ribard, a theoretical and conceptual discussion on the reflexivity of language in historical research, particularly regarding writing, action and autonomy. To this end, the study follows a three-step path: (i) the regimes of interdisciplinarity between linguistics and history; (ii) the relations between speech and writing and the problem of intentionality; and (iii) the confrontation of the notion of writing action with those of discourse and representation. Among the contributions of this interview, the proposal of an explicit and systematic regime of interdisciplinarity between history and applied linguistics stands out.