Because we have by today so deeply interiorized writing, made it so much a part of ourselves, as. Ong s work is one that must be read slowly, carefully, and analytically, because it delivers so many different points that you have to be quick to catch each one. Big picture thinking writing has transformed human consciousness without writing, the mind could not think or be aware writing is technology. Walter ongs 1988 book orality and literacy was a landmark in communication theory, articulating many of the central concerns of the toronto school about the relationship between technologies of. Ong, writing is a technology that restructures thought, from the linguistics of literacy, eds. Plato would be as hostile to computers as he was to writing because. This thirtieth anniversary edition coinciding with ongs centenary year. Ongs work is one that must be read slowly, carefully, and analytically, because it delivers. One of the best and most challenging books ive read in recent months is walter j. As walter ong observes in orality and literacy, the way we communicate whether it be through voice, writing, or print changes how we think and behave. Pauly anyone searching the library catalogue will be confronted with the weight and scale of walter ongs intellectual legacy. The term literature is used to describe oral cultures despite the fact that oral narrative is often never touched by writing. Ong was an jesuit priest, philosopher, and a linguist.
Relying on eric havelocks preface to plato 1963, ong asserts. The term literature is used to describe oral cultures despite the fact. Writing has transformed human consciousness without writing, the mind could not think or be aware writing is technology new technology brings the critique into existence those who argue against technology, need technology to get their points across platos argument against writing was written. In a letter written on 27 january 1988, walter ong described his essay writing is a technology that restructures thought as one of the most important short pieces i have ever got up, with some totally new things in the second half. Walter ong, writing is a technology that restructures thought. His many publications have been highly influential for studies in the evolution of consciousness. It is primary by contrast with the secondary orality of presentday hightechnology culture, in which a new orality is sustained by telephone, radio, television, and other electronic devices that depend for their existence and functioning on writing and print. Walter ong, writing is a technology that restructures.
On walter ong s writing is a technology that restructures thought by ek pope in his essay, writing is a technology that restructures thought, walter ong submits that literacy is not an innate human understanding. Sep 16, 20 writing is a technology that restructures thought, by walter j. He argues that many people do not make the distinction between having an idea, and putting it down on paper. Studies in the interaction of expression and culture. In ong s terms, then, writing, as a technology, can shape consciousness and communicative behaviors. The essay can be found in ongs rhetoric, romance, and technology.
This is particularly true in high technology cultures, which are built on literacy of necessity and which encourage the impression that. As far as i know, his thesis about technology is not widely embraced by either conservatives or liberals in the rarified world of roman catholic theology today. On walter ongs writing is a technology that restructures thought. The essay can be found in ong s rhetoric, romance, and technology. Ongs work is one that must be read slowly, carefully, and analytically, because it delivers so many different points that you have to be quick to catch each one. Ong, provides a variety of claims to support the use of writing as a technology. In his essay writing is a technology that restructures thought the main thing he tries to show us is writing is a technology that changes us and yet we still dont even realize it and how writing is a technology and it changes the we think. The meanings of audience as a subject for theory and for the teaching of writing, audience is obvious.
Tom wolfe on media, advertising, technology 1999 duration. Dec 18, 2014 ong s basic argument is that the creation of recording and writing has allowed humans to express increasingly more complex thought. Writing, a process, for ong, of putting spoken language into writing is ruled by contrived, articulatable rules 81 but, for ong, this isnt a problem. Ong was a priest, a historian and theologian as well as a professor of literature, and much more.
This is particularly true in hightechnology cultures, which are built on literacy of necessity and which encourage the impression that. First, we will discuss barthes in comparison to derrida. Dec 06, 2010 in his essay, writing is a technology that restructures thought, walter ong submits that literacy is not an innate human understanding. However, soon im sure people who are considered computer illiterate will be looked down upon just as people who cannot read or write. Whereas sight situates the observer outside what he views, at a distance, sound pours into the hearer. Jan 27, 2014 the following excerpts are taken from an article by walter ong titled, romantic difference and technology. Ong begins with a discussion of literacy, and its assumed naturalness. Media ecology theorist marshall mcluhan is highly recognized for his contributions towards our understanding of media, communication technology and media ecology.
It initiated what printing and electronics only continued, the physical reduction of dynamic sound to quiescent space, the separation of the word from the living present, where alone real, spoken words exist 30. Ong offers fascinating insights into oral genres across the globe and through time and examines the rise of abstract philosophical and scientific thinking. Module 2 1 excerpts from walter ongs book orality and literacy. Ong noticed two key changes in western thought, manifest in ramuss writing. Ong 30 november 1912 12 august 2003 was university professor emeritus at saint louis university, usa, where he was previously professor of english and professor of humanities in psychiatry. Those who use writing will become forgetful, relying on an external resource for what they lack in internal resources. John hartley is an educator, author, researcher and commentator on the history and cultural. Sparsely linear or analytic thought and speech is an artificial creation, structured by the technology of writing. Or, rather, since readers of this or any book by definition are acquainted with literate culture from the inside, the subject is.
An oral community in takeo, cambodia confronts writing. The following excerpts are taken from an article by walter ong titled, romantic difference and technology. In ongs terms, then, writing, as a technology, can shape consciousness and communicative behaviors. Sep 08, 2014 walter ong oral cultures and early writing abe aboud. The letter is in the publication file of that essay. In section three, ong shows how all writing is a technology. Ongs extraordinary orality and literacy which documents the invention of writing and its effect on culture. Ong 3 characterizes cultures on the basis of the arrangement of communications media which predominate in them as a primary. Walter ong oral cultures and early writing abe aboud. Orality and literacy two crucial pathways into written language. As he says, to call writing artificial is not to condemn it, but to.
Ong i style the orality of a culture totally untouched by any knowledge or writing or print, primary orality. Agree with walter ong on the other hand i do think it is a little ridiculous to spend so much time arguing about which form of communication is better every form of technology serves a purpose it is up to us to find out what that purpose is. Ongs basic argument is that the creation of recording and writing has allowed humans to express increasingly more complex thought. At the same time, writing as a technology is being shaped by how people use it. Ong opens by highlighting the lasting significance of the romantic movement. Ong on the differences between orality and literacy new. Because we have by today so deeply interiorized writing, made it so much a part of ourselves, as platos age had not yet made it fully a part of itself havelock 1963, we find it difficult to consider writing to.
Ong, provides a variety of claims to support the use of writing as a technology, and to understand writing in relation to oral speech of both the past and present. Then we will discuss robinson and ong in relation to each other. His major interest was in exploring how the transition from orality to literacy influenced culture and changed human consciousness. Ong and media ecology proceedings of the media ecology association, volume 6, 2005 all of this, ong reminds us, takes place in the context of an educational system that existed more and more in the context of a foreign language latin for adolescent boys. Plato was thinking of writing as an external, alien technology, as many people today. The study of orality is closely allied to the study of oral tradition the term orality has been used in a variety of ways, often to describe, in a generalised fashion, the structures of consciousness found in cultures that do. Ong, especially in his book orality and literacy and. Ellen cushman, eugene kintgen, barry kroll, and mike rose.
Fully literate persons can only with great difficulty imagine what a primary oral culture is like, that is, a culture with no knowledge whatsoever of writing or even the possibility of writing walter ong. Because we have by today so deeply interiorized writing, made it. Walter jackson ong sj november 30, 1912 august 12, 2003 was an american jesuit priest, professor of english literature, cultural and religious historian and philosopher. It is possible to generalize somewhat about the psychodynamics of primary oral cultures, that is, of oral cultures untouched by writing. It tends to arrogate to itself supreme power by taking itself as normative for human expression and thought. In his essay, writing is a technology that restructures thought, walter ong submits that literacy is not an innate human understanding.
Secondly, platos socrates urges, writing destroys memory. The former has no knowledge of the written language whereas the latter is rooted from the oral culture and is dominated by writing and print cultures. Modern scholarship has shown that orality is a complex and tenacious social phenomenon. Platos whole epistemology of abstract ideas owes itself to writing. Jan 17, 2012 fully literate persons can only with great difficulty imagine what a primary oral culture is like, that is, a culture with no knowledge whatsoever of writing or even the possibility of writing walter ong. Vision comes to a human being from one direction at a time. Primary and secondary orality innovations in media. In the book orality and literacy, walter ong mentions a primary oral culture and a chirographic culture. Ong titled, writing is a technology that restructures thought. You should write a single sentence, beginning like this. One could even go as far back as to reference socrates critique on the impact of writing which walter ong considers a technology on our memory module 2. Homo sapiens has been on earth perhaps some 50,000 years leakey and lewin 1979, pp.
Orality, literacy, and modern media walter oug walter ong was, until his recent retirement, professorofhumanities atsaint ljuis university. Sep 24, 2017 with the advent of technology there is a culture of new orality that is sustained by phones, radio and television. Walter ong oral cultures and early writing youtube. Walter ong described writing as a technology that restructures thought, and used his article to well explain why he think writing is a technology. Walter ong s 1988 book orality and literacy was a landmark in communication theory, articulating many of the central concerns of the toronto school about the relationship between technologies of. Profound changes in thought processes and in personality and social structures were brought about by the invention of writing and the transformation from one stage of consciousness to.
Walter ong characterises the main differences between the languages of oral and literate cultures in these terms. Ong 1982 write a short summary including the main ideas of the above statement. Writing is a technology that restructures thought, by walter j. Nevertheless, ong was the first jesuit ever invited to deliver the prestigious terry lectures at yales divinity school. As walter ong has pointed out, writing can, in a strict sense, have only readers, not the collectivity of an audience the writers au dience is always a fiction, pmla, 90 1975, 11. Ong calls writing a technological revolution that not only transformed societies, but also restructured the way individuals think and feel in the privacy of their own minds.
He thought of writing as a kind of complement to oral speech, not as a transformer of verbalization saussure 1959, pp. On walter ongs writing is a technology that restructures. Compared to secondary orality, which is the world we know today, primary orality is a world without writing. Orality is thought and verbal expression in societies where the technologies of literacy especially writing and print are unfamiliar to most of the population. Expanding walter ongs theory of orality and literacy through a culture of virtuality by jennifer camille dempsey may 2014 dissertation supervised by dr.
Writing is a technology plato was thinking of writing as an external, alien technology, as many people today think of the computer. The subject of this book is the differences between orality and literacy. Following ong, i accept that writing is a technology, and this has changed my view of reading, print and media. First, walter ong stated that people can use printed words to think and speak human beings, and he pointed out that writing is a technology that has integrated into the human mind. In 1978 ong served as elected president of the modern language association. Writing is a technology that restructures thought walter j. Ongs classic work provides a fascinating insight into the social effects of oral, written, printed and electronic technologies, and their impact on philosophical, theological, scientific and literary thought. With the advent of technology there is a culture of new orality that is sustained by phones, radio and television. Orality, literacy, and modern media in davdcrowlyanaul heyer, communication in history.
Communication theoryorality and literacy wikibooks, open. In his essay writing is a technology that restructures thought the main thing he tries to show us is writing is a technology that changes us and yet we still dont even realize it and how writing is a technology and it. Eliminating redundancy on a significant scale demands a timeobviating technology, writing, which imposes some. Class discussion will divide into two specific discussions. Vision dissects, as merleauponty has observed 1961. Writing also creates definitive meaning for signifiers, allowing humans to communicate very specific utterances in a way that a graphic image, like a hieroglyph, is not able to do. The chapter on the psychodynamics of orality is especially illuminating for someone interested in mental health, as well as the comparison of sightdominant with sounddominant cultures. Rather than seeing technology as simply transformative of consciousness and writing, we can also see technology as something that can be transformed by consciousness. The former has no knowledge of the written language whereas the latter is rooted from the oral culture and is. Writing is passive, out of it, in an unreal, unnatural world. This dissertation seeks to create a vision for virtuality culture through a theoretical expansion of walter ongs literacy and orality culture model.
475 1302 1391 223 1297 1181 644 1031 1219 443 1436 532 776 1438 1197 399 414 966 681 299 1456 241 1523 1107 541 532 1013 1272 76 1234 1444 1154 1358 311 1338 967 1490 968 944