Monthly Archives: October 2011

The Invention of Photography

Introduction Photography was invented in the early 1800’s but the concepts of the two main components of photography: the camera and light sensitive chemicals, were known much earlier. By the late 1800’s photography was more than an invention, it had … Continue reading

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The Rise of the Penny Newspaper

There is something to be said about the importance of stories on loose newsprint which contrast against the more rigorous stories bound in books. Ong (1982) argues that the technology of books allowed the author to take a single point … Continue reading

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Impact of Television on History Education

The invention of Television (TV) has provoked an enormous impact on culture and society. Since the beginning of its development until today it has been pushing profound changes in humans’ thinking. As it is a technology that stimulates attention, fosters … Continue reading

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The Rise of Cinema

Theatre had been popular for thousands of years before the advent of film.  No doubt theatre had a profound influence on the film industry but photography had a major influence as well.  The magic lantern from the sixteenth century was … Continue reading

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The Shift from Scroll to Codex to Print

Shifts in communication mediums throughout history have affected how people interact with each other and text.  This commentary will discuss how the transitions from scroll to codex to print affected reading, writing and communication.  Communication remained largely oral in ancient … Continue reading

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A Critique of Postman’s View of Technology and Schooling

In his book Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology, Postman cautions against what he views as a prevailing movement towards a society where technology is increasingly in control of humanity (1992). He describes a world where technology is widely … Continue reading

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Literacy and Orality: Preserving endangered oral languages with literacy

In the book Orality and Literacy by Walter Ong (1982), the author describes how languages have evolved from an oral form to a written or literate form. He not only describes the origin of oral languages and the transitions to … Continue reading

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Commentary #1 — The Judgment of Thamus

Introduction In his book “ Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology”, Neil Postman presents Plato’s legend of the wise king Thamus’ response to the invention of writing as an instructive lesson in how societies should think about living in … Continue reading

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Commentary #1: Module 2 Kim Melvin

During the readings of Module 2: From Orality to Literacy there were many times Ong challenged my previous thinking and presented ideas that I had never contemplated. I have previously classified myself as a reluctant writer. I find the writing … Continue reading

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Commentary 1: From Orality to Literacy: From Whence We Came

The relics of a purely oral culture are evident in today’s world in a myriad of ways. Yet is not until reading Walter Ong’s book, Orality and Literacy, that it is possible to recognize the vestiges of an oral culture … Continue reading

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Commentary #1 – Orality and Literacy, Chapter 4: Writing Restructures Consciousness

It is quite likely that Walter Ong’s Orality and Literacy (1982) has a broad readership among a multitude of disciplines including linguists, educators, historians, philosophers, and so forth.  My own background in psychology afforded me a cognitive and neuropsychological lens … Continue reading

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Commentary #1 The Virtual Library, dream or reality?

                                      Internet users in the modern Library of Alexandria “The “virtual library” is a dream that many share, something many have imagined … Continue reading

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Neil Postman’s Technological Determinism

Postman (1992) uses an excerpt from Plato’s Phaedrus in which Thamus, a king of a great city of Upper Egypt, criticises Theuth’s invention of writing, as a starting point for his discussion on the influence of technology on society in … Continue reading

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Oral Qualities in Mark Antony’s Speech

Shakespeare clearly understands the power of the spoken word.  In Julius Caesar, Mark Antony’s famous rhetorical speech at the funeral includes several specifically oral qualities that contribute to his power of persuasion.  An “orally attuned audience,” such as would have … Continue reading

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Commentary #1- Role of technology in informing and transforming culture

The rapid development of digital technologies and their impact not only on language and literacy issues but on our society in general, prompt us to examine and question the implications of such development in our lives and on our role … Continue reading

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Commentary 1: Technopoly Today

In Postman’s (1992) Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology, the argument of whether technology makes people “cease to exercise their memory and become forgetful” is addressed. The need for educators to scrutinize their technology use is very important as … Continue reading

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The Technology of Text and Writing

Speech echoes within the self, and is based on immediate thoughts, built upon interior structures and resonating in the present moment of dynamic sound.  Yet, in order to move beyond the “now” and the limitations of immediacy within a limited … Continue reading

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Ong’s Chapter 4 – Writing restructures consciousness

Do people who originate and develop in a solely oral culture ever reach the quality of thought that is achieved by those who originate and develop with writing in a literate culture? Walter J Ong, in his book Orality and … Continue reading

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Danielle’s Ong Commentary

I have chosen to write a commentary on Ong’s (1982) fourth chapter entitled Writing Restructures Consciousness because I am finding the history of writing fascinating and I wanted to explore the questions surrounding the human motivation to write as well … Continue reading

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Writing as a technology

The introduction of new technologies within a society often results in a critique of how such innovations will affect human consciousness.  Plato argues how the technology of writing influences one’s memory, does not represent reality, and ultimately weakens the mind.  … Continue reading

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