Diffusion Of Literacy Essay

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Mankind at present is on the cusp of a new era of information: where society as a whole was once dominated by the inescapable grasp of writing, then print, human progress is now carrying us, in part kicking and screaming, into digitality. This marked shift from one paradigm to another, and its effects on our human identity, is by its very nature incredibly well-documented, just as was the carry-over from writing to print. But what of the first shift, the diffusion of writing and literacy that appeared to completely scrub primary orality from the face of every civilization that took up its successor? According to Walter J. Ong, that first diffusion of literacy completely rewired the human mind in order to create a more advanced society that depended on writing to survive. …show more content…

(89) What’s more, from this point forward, a return to orality is more or less impossible, and actively, though subconsciously, rejected.

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