THE IMPACT OF THE PRINTING PRESS. No books Illiterate population Oral culture Priests announced news at church Local priests often didn’t own.

THE IMPACT OF THE PRINTING PRESS

No booksIlliterate populationOral culturePriests announced news at churchLocal priests often didn’t own a BibleVillagers listened to traveling readersNo schoolsFeudal societyChurch maintains control over masses by

limiting access to information

PRE-GUTENBERG EUROPE

Ok, there were some books. But they were mostly in Latin and belonged to the Church or aristocrats.500 AD – 1500 AD: Monks copied books by hand1100 AD: Universities begin to train and pay scribes to copy books by hand

WHAT!? NO BOOKS!?

Gutenberg invents the printing press.

1440-50

The Bible

WHAT WAS THE FIRST BOOK PRINTED?

Latin

WHAT LANGUAGE WAS IT PRINTED IN?

The printing press made it possible to print a large number of books (exact copies) in a short time.

National languages replace Latin

Regional dialects become standardized (everyone uses the same words)

Rules for grammar and spelling develop

WHAT WAS THE EFFECT OF PRINTING ON LANGUAGE?

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HOW DID PRINTING CHANGE BOOKS?

1. Printing spread across Europe like wildfire…

HOW DID PRINTING CHANGE SOCIETY?

By 1500 there were 20 million books on 35,000 different topics!

2. Literacy3. Schools4. National identity5. Common people have access to information6. People discover contradictions between texts, this affects their perception and thinking. Critical thinking!

EFFECTS ON SOCIETY

7. Traditional power structures began to be challenged (The Reformation)8. Scientific knowledge expanded (The Renaissance)9. The Church began to lose its absolute authority

EFFECTS ON SOCIETY

Machiavelli (1469-1527) Father of political scienceNicholas Copernicus (1473-1543) Astronomy- the earth revolves around the sunGalileo (1564-1642): Astronomy- telescopes and the solar systemRene Descartes (1596-1650): Philosophy- “I think, therefore I am.”

REVOLUTIONARY THINKERS

Printing press promotes the idea that everyone can have their own opinion. And maybe get it published so it can spread!

10. INDIVIDUALISM

Democracy!

A FEW HUNDRED YEARS LATER ALL THESE EFFECTS HELP TO CREATE…

How did the printing press affect Western culture?LiteracyAccess to knowledgeSchoolsSpread of scienceStandardized languagesNationalismQuestioning authorityIndividualismDEMOCRACY

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