A figured world is socially produced and culturally constructed by a particular set of actors who have a particular set of values.

Figured worlds are enacted through artifacts in practice. Artifacts can be shown as a material aspect or a conceptual aspect. A figured world consists of actors and in this world artifacts are the things that are important to us or have some value. A literacy practice is described as in being able to deal or affiliate with different cultural and social aspects of things to form a sense of literacy. Figured worlds and actors and artifacts all tie in together. In a figured world there are specific types of actors that values certain artifacts. For example when I first saw this it made me think of the soaps, like Bold and the Beautiful. The actors in that world are so rich and they dont have a worry in the world about money because their business is so successful and their company is an artifact to them, something that they value and means everything to them.

Questions: Is socially acceptable to cross boundaries into communicating with someone of a different figured world? How is one to know someone elses expectations of society? Who critiques and defines the figured worlds that everyone lives?