GMoLS6E33 Scribes 2: Literacy and Orality, with Donald Clark

Second of a two-part series on the invention of writing and the impact of literacy on learning.

Last time, Donald and John discussed how writing was invented in the ancient world. This time the focus moves to the 20th Century, and thinkers such as Walter Ong and Eric Havelock who revived interest in the pre-literate world of oral culture. Their work raised themes that were to become ever more resonant with the rise of the internet and AI.

  • 00:00:00 – Intro
  • 00:00:56 – Introducing Literacy & Orality
  • 00:09:15 – Walter J. Ong (1912-2023)
  • 00:22:44 – Eric Alfred Havelock (1903-1988)
  • 00:33:08 – Jack Goody (1919–2015) & Ian Watt (1917–1999)
  • 00:42:10 – Pierre Bourdieu (1930-2002)
  • 00:59:04 – Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980)
  • 01:13:14 – Clay Shirky (1964–)
  • 01:27:39 – Summing up

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