{"id":39,"date":"2016-05-20T23:56:25","date_gmt":"2016-05-21T06:56:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/navigosal\/?p=39"},"modified":"2016-05-21T00:29:27","modified_gmt":"2016-05-21T07:29:27","slug":"assignment-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/navigosal\/2016\/05\/20\/assignment-13\/","title":{"rendered":"Assignment 1:3"},"content":{"rendered":"

The idea for separating \u201coral culture\u201d and \u201cwritten culture\u201d has been a norm for European societies for hundreds of years. Western discourse not only separates the two but also places them in hierarchical terms whereby written words are dominate when keeping records. \u00a0In present day, most oral societies have now adopted written words for expressing, communicating and documenting, but this does not take away from the great value in orally transmitting knowledge<\/a>. \u00a0The idea of distinguishing between the two is not only narrowing, but also incorrect when taken into the context of framing culture in a larger sense.<\/p>\n

\"dichotomy\"<\/p>\n

Comparing \u201coral culture\u201d to \u201cwritten culture\u201d is a juxtaposition that creates an unnecessary tension between the two. For Courtney MacNeil, speech and writing are entangled but our current theories and models do not exemplify it as such and we are therefore studying these traditions in a blind manner. As MacNeil exemplifies, the rapid advances of technology and the World Wide Web blur oral and written traditions further. Edward Chamberlain discusses the harmful effects of not only dividing the two but also assuming that \u201cspeaking and listening are simple and natural, while writing and reading are cultivated and complex\u201d (19).\u00a0He writes about the conflict that this brought in history, and how people created their own communities based on how they communicated with each other. He views the two in a similar light to MacNeil:\u00a0written and oral cultures are intertwined with each other, since many oral cultures are \u201crich in forms of writing\u201d (20). For Chamberlin, listening and reading go hand in hand.<\/p>\n

In another one of Chamberlin\u2019s works he brings up a very crucial point whereby he states colonialism has backed us into a place where we must make a choice between the two traditions, but he states bluntly that neither such culture exists (138). \u00a0Every culture has eyes and ears and therefore not only sees things but also reads<\/em> them \u201cwhether in the stars or in the sand, whether spelled out by alphabet or animal, whether communicated across natural or supernatural boundaries\u201d (138). As well in relation to oral traditions, he points out that every culture hears and listens. In the Western culture, the predominant institutions \u2013 churches, courts and parliaments \u2013 are places where speech is at the forefront.<\/p>\n

In order to have culture as a whole, both are needed and it is foolish to even attempt to separate them. Forcing a dichotomy dismisses the symbiotic relationship that exists between the two. In an interview, discussing is book; Chamberlin states that the inability to communicate with others in the contemporary setting has to do with our issues in the past. To help deal with these issues we need the accounts of both oral and written stories.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Works Cited<\/p>\n

Battiste, Marie Ann. “From Hand to Mouth: The Postcolonial Politics of Oral and Written Traditions.” Reclaiming Indigenous Voice and Vision<\/i>. Vancouver: UBC, 2000. 124-38. Print.<\/p>\n

Chamberlin, J. Edward. If This Is Your Land, Where Are Your Stories?: Reimagining Home and Sacred Space<\/i>. Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim, 2004. Print.<\/p>\n

MacNeil, Courtney. “Orality.” The Chicago School of Media Theory, n.d. Web. 20 May 2016.<\/p>\n

“Oral Traditions.” Oral Traditions<\/i>. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2016.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The idea for separating \u201coral culture\u201d and \u201cwritten culture\u201d has been a norm for European societies for hundreds of years. Western discourse not only separates the two but also places them in hierarchical terms whereby written words are dominate when keeping records. \u00a0In present day, most oral societies have now adopted written words for expressing, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/navigosal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/navigosal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/navigosal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/navigosal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/navigosal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/navigosal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/navigosal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39\/revisions\/43"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/navigosal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/navigosal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/navigosal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}