James Paul Gee

Biography

Photo of James Paul Gee

James Paul Gee is a member of the National Academy of Education. His book Sociolinguistics and Literacies (1990; 2007) was one of the founding documents in the formation of New Literacy Studies, an interdisciplinary field devoted to studying language, learning, and literacy in an integrated way in the full range of their cognitive, social, and cultural contexts. His book An Introduction to Discourse Analysis (1999; 2005) brings together his work on a methodology for studying communication in its cultural settings, an approach that has been widely influential over the last two decades.

Professor Gee’s most recent books deal with videogames, language, and learning. What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy (2003; 2007) argues that good videogames are designed to enhance learning through effective learning principles supported by research in the learning sciences. Situated Language and Learning (2004) places videogames within an overall theory of learning and literacy and shows how they can help us in thinking about the reform of schools. His most recent book is Good Video Games and Good Learning: Collected Essays (2007). Professor Gee has published widely in journals in linguistics, psychology, the social sciences, and education.

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