Literacy and Consequences History of Information July 14 2010 Recap Tech Determinism Writing Systems Many Literacies Nominal Literacy Computer Literacy Scientific Literacy Mathematical Literacy Functional Literacy Political Literacy Digital Literacy Cultural Literacy Health Literacy Physical Literacy Media Literacy Twitter Literacy Howard Rheingold Literacy Literacy Literacy Crisis That s the drift of screen reading Yes it s a kind of literacy but it breaks down in the face of a dense argument a Modernist poem a long political tract and other texts that require steady focus and linear attention in a word slow reading Fast scanning doesn t foster flexible minds that can adapt to all kinds of texts and it doesn t translate into academic reading If it did then in a 2006 Chronicle survey of college professors fully 41 percent wouldn t have labeled students not well prepared in reading 48 percent rated them somewhat well prepared Bauerlein Online Literacy is a Lesser Kind Chronicle of Higher Education 2008 Src http chronicle com article Online Literacy Is a Lesser 28307 The Origins of the Alphabet in Greece First true alphabet emerges ca 750 B C Flame of Literacy spread along Phoenician trade routes Src http www danstopicals com phoenicians3 htm The Greeks Innovation Revising Phoenician script by providing symbols for individual consonants and vowels in isolation A Work in Progress Stoichedon Horizontal Vertical alignment no spaces punctuation Sacred law concerning temple worship in Acropolis 4th 5th C BC Boustrophedon textgoesoneway niagakcabnehtdna justlikeanoxturning hguolpahtiwdleifa Src http en wikipedia org wiki File EPMA 6794 IGI 283 2948 Sacred law 3 JPG Punctuation An Aside Orthographic elements such as word spacing punctuation paragraphing etc occur later woman without her man is nothing to be or not to be that is the question you don t know jack Punctuation An Aside Orthographic elements such as word spacing punctuation paragraphing etc occur later woman without her man is nothing woman without her man is nothing To be or not to be that is the question To be or not To be that is The question You don t know Jack You don t know Jack Emergence of Literate Societies In early literate societies literacy restricted to small priesthood or guild association of literacy w magic Functions of literacy restricted to record keeping administration rituals laws monumental inscriptions etc Emergence of Alphabetic Societies Alphabetic scripts are easier to learn facilitate development of widespread literacy This invention could be learned by a majority of the population thus creating the possibility of a popular literacy Havelock Aided by introduction of papyrus from Egypt Expansion of functions of literacy to other genres poetry history letters etc By 5th century BC Greece is an alphabetic society Havelock Nunberg s Alphabetolatry The premise that the technology of communication controls the content of what is communicated has been popularized in connection with modern radio cinema and television I am applying it in a more radical fashion to a shift in the character of the human consciousness which occurred in ancient Greece and which we inherit Briefly I am arguing that the history of the human mind as of the human language falls into roughly two epochs the prealphabetic and the post alphabetic Eric Havelock Alphabet Idolatry Alphabetolatry Alphabetic vs Logographic systems Virtues of pure or phonetic alphabetic writing Ease of learning Typographic simplicity Ease of processing Src http en wikipedia org wiki File Shaw alphabet paperback jpg Alphabetic vs Logographic systems Virtues of logographic systems Doesn t privilege one dialect Purely phonetic systems can lead to ambiguities Cf French os eau eaux haut hauts au aux etc How phonemic is English famous uh should U journey er you oo loud ow through oo bough ow though oh cough awf thought aw tough uhf And Alphabetic vs Logographic systems Virtues of logographic systems Doesn t privilege one dialect Purely phonetic systems can lead to ambiguities Cf French os eau eaux haut hauts au aux etc How phonemic is English famous uh should U journey er you oo loud ow through oo bough ow though oh cough awf thought aw tough uhf And hiccough up Literacy and Ideology Universal literacy seen as tool for cognitive and social development Literacy is a human right a tool of personal empowerment and a means for social and human development Educational opportunities depend on literacy Literacy is at the heart of basic education for all and essential for eradicating poverty reducing child mortality curbing population growth achieving gender equality and ensuring sustainable development peace and democracy There are good reasons why literacy is at the core of Education for All EFA A good quality basic education equips pupils with literacy skills for life and further learning literate parents are more likely to send their children to school literate people are better able to access continuing educational opportunities and literate societies are better geared to meet pressing development UNESCO Src http www unesco org en literacy literacy important Consequences of Literacy Social Cultural Cognitive Social Cultural Consequences The invention of history liberates from the tyranny of the present The elimination of structural amnesia and homeostasis Ability to challenge tradition favoring inconsistency intellectual skepticism Spread of religion The separation of truth from myth Democracy and new forms of civic and political participation Ability to govern and organize at a greater range Development of modern science More Social Cultural Consequences Inability to participate fully in cultural tradition Increase in social stratification through differentiation Separation of public and private The whole idea of individuality So how do these reconcile with arguments about democracy Cognitive Psychological Consequences Logical thought and deduction Abstract thought and categorization Individual thought as opposed to collective thought Loss of memory Objectivity and rationality Writing restructures consciousness Ong Walter 1982 Orality and Literacy Historical Comparision with China and India What assertions does Gough 1968 make about literacy in China and India Historical Comparision with China and India Distribution of literacy a result of social stratification rather than the reverse In China alphabet not required for widespread literacy Strong oral tradition as in