Conversation, language, and the written word.

Literacy Programs

May 2021

Full Citation

Wagner, J. and H. J. P. Anderson (2007). Conversation, language, and the written word. Innovations in the reflecting process.: 86-102.

Abstract

The language we create in our culture shapes us and our views, and our actions against others. This chapter show how individuals within the organization (a high-security prison in Kalmar, a city in the southeast of Sweden) think, and how they are affected through an ongoing conversation. Some language expressions and how they influence our thinking are described, and I have chosen texts representing language expressions. I also describe how a written text can be used in different ways: as a way of beginning to talk or to tell a story, as one way to describe the other. I (the author) meet with inmates and tell them about the conversations, the reflective talks, that we practice at the Kalmar facility. In the reflective talks, we always meet as three parties; one inmate and two staff members. Inmates can also choose some of their co-inmates to join them for a topic of interest to them, and they can choose a staff member trained in reflective conversations as a leader for the discussion. The history of reflective talks at Kalmar now is in its fifteenth year. Our conversations touch on various issues including leadership, personnel, and inmates, as well as the entire way of organizing the work at the facility. Excerpts from an interview with Anna, an orderly officer who sometimes substitutes as director and who takes part in the reflecting work, are presented. Her story is a testimony to how descriptions can influence us. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)