Orality, Literacy, and Personality
Public lecture from Ong's Lincoln Lecture series. Ong's summary: Cultures dominated by writing and print are strongly visualist: for them, even words, which are essentially sounds, are commonly thought of in great part as something visible, written or printed. The "world" or &qu...
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| Format: | Online |
| Language: | eng |
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Saint Louis University Libraries Digitization Center
1974
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| Online Access: | http://cdm17321.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/ong/id/682 |
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| Summary: | Public lecture from Ong's Lincoln Lecture series. Ong's summary: Cultures dominated by writing and print are strongly visualist: for them, even words, which are essentially sounds, are commonly thought of in great part as something visible, written or printed. The "world" or "universe" for such a culture tends to be thought of as something displayed in front of one's eyes, spread out for apprehension by vision. Other ways of experiencing the "world" are possible: it can be thought of as like sound, as something going on, as a happening in which we are participating, as a harmony. Sound is always a happening, an ongoing event, and oral cultures can favor a sense of the world or universe as something not so much seen as lived with and in. The tendency in highly technologized cultures to develop interest in happenings accompanies their break-through into a new world of sound with electronic media (telephone, radio, television). The relationship of this technological breakthrough to African cultures and psychological structures can be the subject of audience comment and discussion. |
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