Three Ages of Media

7/25/2019 Three Ages of Media

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Three ages of Media



IntelligibleAbstract General

Sensible Concrete Specifc

R e a d

s t

invention arrangement style delivery

SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SU



Presence of the WordWalter Ong

Oral/AuralPrint/literacy

Electronic



ORAL/AURAL

Sensorium— hich sense is used As far as one can hear/!ro"ect #oice

$nterior to interior %oice to ear

Time/s!ace &ound—sound is in timeLearning is an e#ent not transfer of

information'ommunal/tri&al

Entire community gathers to learn



(no ledge—memory

storage/recollection(no ledge is memory

The one ho remem&ers most is isest

Rhetorical education de#oted to memoryLiterature) history)

(no ledge is connected to &ody) !ersonPlace to find *no ledge is !erson—+esus,

(no ledge is communicated inmemora&le forms



S!ea*ers/teachers use forms

so hearers can store/recollect

Oral culture uses forms to remem&er

-arrati#e—drama) narrated story) !oems)sentences)images



Limits of oral communication

'loc*—sound ta*es timeSound..inter!rets

S!ace—only as far as one can hear





O!!ortunities in oral

communicationLearning is an e#ent in#ol#ing at least t o)usually a cro d

Where t o or three are gathered in my nameLearning includes the hole !erson—emotions) intellect) &ody

Learning in#ol#es o!en hand in the agora$ntellectuals—closed fist of logic



Literary—t o eras

Pa!yrus) #ellumoo* is orth the life of !erson ho s!ent

time !utting it do n..'olum&aMo#ea&le ty!e

oo* is 0uic*ly !rinted) ReformationMemory aides annoying

Mo#e to ma*e learning !ure denotation



PR$-T/L$TERA'1

SensoriumE2terior to e2terior—su&"ect/o&"ect

Eye to !ageTime

Time #anishes) if you ha#e &oo* andunderstand language) you can read it and &e

half. ays !resent to author—reading along$ndi#idual—solitary) communing ith the ages'ommunity—not in !resence) &ut o#er alltime and s!ace



Al!ha&et ca!tures sound..

ideas-arrati#e ta*es !lace in time

reading does not in same ay

Page &rea*s time constraintsEric 3a#eloc*—Preface to Plato'ould tal* a&out courage ithout telling story of

Achilles A&stractions !ossi&le—structure as intellectual—outline) o&"ectify a thing or idea and teach a&out it



(no ledgeOn the !ageSomething to &e found in li&raryMo#es from !erson to !age

4ets this info do n so that hen !ersondies) e ill ha#e stories

rea*s limits of time and s!ace

'reates indi#iduals ho learn in silence'ommunicate ith all ages..li&raryThought goes silent





'ommunication

5iscourse is a&out something) not tosomeone—letters are different) e read

them o#er and o#er againSentences content ithout sha!e&ecause you can loo* &ac*

oo* re#erencedWriting—one !erson to hom,

Audience is diffuse in time and s!ace



Limits6 7Presence8

Time/s!ace-o longer im!ortant

Writer is one ith !o er Plato says it al ays saysthe same things)

dialogue goneWe change so the &oo*changes



Electronic

Sensorium increases3earing im!ortant again—seeing alsoTime &ac*/s!ace not

'an &e !resent any here) &ut can9t affecthat you see.. e&site

Shallo — e &ecome surface) only firstnames,

Multi.tas*ing,:ast changing—te2ting) aural) &logging)Lasts fore#er—so &e careful



(no ledge

-o need to memori;e anythingSearcha&le data&ases

oo*s different) archi#al,'an find li*e minds around the orld

'an create communities of !eo!le from

around the orld) no longer solitary



'ommunication

$mage—can9t "ust hear) also seeToday e ha#e to see

%ideos) you are there3a#e to hear—sound trac* createsmeaning) can9t re#erse

Electronic ta*es !recedence— T itter)SMS) more im!ortant than !ersonin front of you



Electronic 'ommunication&oth oral and !rint

What is remem&ered,-arrati#e) $mage #ery im!ortant

Sho story of !erson affected &y ne la4etting the narrati#e laid do n

Anecdote—demonstrates hat the effectof la ill &e



LimitsE0ui!ment to send out the info,

Anomie, $ lose sense of !hysical neigh&or (no ledge out there) not in here'an e &e human ithout memory

3er&ert 3oo#er/Edgar 3oo#er ecomes mythic—recedes in !ast

:irst World War (ennedy assassination, Mythic) 'amelot



$m!lications for 'hurch ser#iceMostly oral—time and s!ace

4ather grou! to hear.te2ts) sermon) choir Music to hear

Music to sing—need &oo*sLiturgy—sing) most !eo!le *ne &y memory

PrintPlace of reading, What does it do to &ody of !eo!le

Reading lesson &rea*s communion) creates indi#idualsElectronic—see on screen—loo* u!) not in &oo*)some reading—more communal



'hurch is an e#ent in time

The sermon is an e#entThe sermon mo#es and

informsLi*e a concert) it needsto &e heard incommunity

Three Ages of Media

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