In this paper we question the "modern" concept of literacy, observing it as it is a new theory aiming at replacing the concept of "alphabetization" and its practices so as to produce effective ways of inserting the subject in the worlds of writing and reading. We especially employ the Bakhtinian concepts of speech genres and responsible act on concrete utterances that exemplify the current teaching practice in order to show that the key problem in education is not the name change of a teaching practice, but it is both the mixture of two different realities when it comes to different levels of literacy or to different literacies and the unequal distribution of cultural goods in society.
Literacy; Alphabetization; Bakhtin Circle; Speech Genres; Responsible Act