Defining Success, Defending Failure: Functions of Reported Talk

Abstract

This article analyzes the functions of reported talk in interviews conducted with women who participated in a national adult literacy campaign. The distribution of voices helps the interviewees position themselves within the complex social relations and public discourses both during the historical time of action and the present time of interaction. Reported talk is a powerful discursive strategy for positioning, defining, and defending actions; the emerging story of the literacy campaign challenges both the hegemonic and counterhegemonic narrative of the campaign.