In reading “Speaking, Writing, and Literacy”, in Old Media, New Media and Knowledge I picked up a few interesting things. In this chunk of the work, it goes in depth on Walter Ong’s biggest idea which is that “More than any single convention, writing has changed human consciousness.” Over time, we’ve grown accustom to the idea that technology has changed the way we live. When in reality, the way we live was changed way before technology. Writing was created first and changed the way that many cultures practiced their beliefs. There is such a thing as oral cultures. Oral cultures believe that for their beliefs to stick they need to be continuously repeated.
Oral Cultures and History Books
Reading about oral cultures made me think about the book, “The Giver”. This book was about a town full with a bunch of sameness. Everything was the same, color and emotions didn’t exist. The Giver, held all the knowledge of the past that could hurt their people and he eventually had to pass it on to the next Giver. Oral cultures are almost similar. Their beliefs and practices would have to be taught and recited over and over. A person or a group of people would have to recite and practice in order for the cycle to continue.
Another thought that came to mind, were history books. I believe that history books are where writing and oral cultures come together. If you think about it, someone had to speak about what happened and write it down. Then, the knowledge gathered from all different sources became a history textbook. Next, that book was passed on for years and years. Finally, we have all the history that we know today. Even so, how would we know that any of the history we are reading is true? I would believe that it’s the faith we have in the humanity of the past to believe what is written in those history books.
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