1.\tExplain why the notion that cultures can be distinguished as either \u201doral culture\u201d or \u201cwritten culture\u201d (19) is a mistaken understanding as to how culture works, according to Chamberlin and your reading of Courtney MacNeil\u2019s article \u201cOrality\u201d.<\/p>\n
J. Edward Chamberlin discusses how societies that communicate mainly through speech and performance were and in many cases still are, classified as \u201coral cultures.\u201d Such cultures are generally considered to be na\u00efve and simple. By contrast, cultures that communicate in terms of the written word, classify themselves as \u201cwritten cultures,\u201d and consider themselves to be more \u201ccultivated,\u201d \u201ccomplex\u201d and superior. The argument goes that oral cultures are simply repeating formulaic notions and not capable of superior thought. Chamberlin explains that this notion causes those belonging to \u201cwritten cultures\u201d to feel superior to those of \u201coral cultures.\u201d In Courtney MacNeil\u2019s article \u201cOrality\u201d this way of thinking is further explained; \u201cfor the Toronto School, writing \u2013 alphabetic writing in particular \u2013 is the key to evolutionary progress: that is, that literacy is \u2018absolutely necessary for the development not only of science but also of history, philosophy, explicative understanding of literature and of any art, and indeed for the explanation of language itself,\u2019 [2] while orality is the marker of \u2018tribal man\u2019\u201d (\u201cOrality\u201d). This \u201cencourages people to treat other societies with a blend of condescension and contempt while celebrating the sophistication of their own\u201d (Chamberlin 19). <\/p>\n
Chamberlin argues that the very idea that there are such things as \u201coral cultures\u201d and \u201cwritten cultures\u201d is incorrect. So- called \u201coral cultures\u201d he argues, are actually very rich in literature \u201calbeit non-symbolic and non-alphabetic\u2026 woven and beaded belts and blankets\u2026masks\u201d and so on. On the other hand, the institutions of our supposedly superior societies (schools, courts and churches, for example) \u201care in fact areas of strictly defined and highly formulized oral traditions\u201d (Chamberlin 20). Ignorant and arrogant members of western society have in the past, and in many cases still do, dismiss oral forms of communication; \u201cWestern egocentrism encourages the notion of orality as a secondary (and inferior)\u201d (\u201cOrality\u201d). What both Chamberlin and MacNeil argue is that firstly, our own cultures rely on oral forms of communication more than we may think, and secondly, orality should not be judged as inferior. <\/p>\n
Just because a culture communicates and tells stories differently than we do, does not mean that such a culture should be deemed lesser in any way. In fact, through their different language and ways of communicating, these cultures may understand things that westerners do not. Instead of dismissing other cultures as \u201cprimitive\u201d or \u201cbarbaric,\u201d we should respect the value of their ways of knowing and doing things. <\/p>\n
WORKS CITED<\/p>\n
Chamberlin, Edward. If This is Your Land, Where are Your Stories? Finding Common Ground. AA. Knopf. Toronto. 2003. Print<\/p>\n
MacNeil, Courtney. \u201cOrality.\u201d The Chicago School of Media Theory. Uchicagoedublogs. 2007. Web. 19 Feb. 2013. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
1. Explain why the notion that cultures can be distinguished as either \u201doral culture\u201d or \u201cwritten culture\u201d (19) is a mistaken understanding as to how culture works, according to Chamberlin and your reading of Courtney MacNeil\u2019s article \u201cOrality\u201d. J. Edward Chamberlin discusses how societies that communicate mainly through speech and performance were and in many […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22646,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/gretaanne\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/gretaanne\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/gretaanne\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/gretaanne\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22646"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/gretaanne\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/gretaanne\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/gretaanne\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10\/revisions\/11"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/gretaanne\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/gretaanne\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/gretaanne\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}