The Transition from Literate to Post-Literate Society: Historical Context and Modern Implications
By
drankl
The kind of bagel that ruins lesser bagels for you.
Summary
The article examines the historical shift from a literate society to a post-literate era, tracing how the 18th century reading revolution transformed society through widespread literacy and book culture, and how this foundation is now being eroded by digital media and visual entertainment. It explores Neil Postman's warnings about the consequences of moving from a text-based to an image-based culture, drawing parallels between Huxley's vision of trivial entertainment overwhelming serious discourse and contemporary media consumption patterns.
Key quotes
· 4 pulledWhat Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book because there would be no one who wanted to read one.
It was one of the most important revolutions in modern history — and yet no blood was spilled, no bombs were thrown and no monarch was beheaded.
This one took place in armchairs, in libraries, in coffee houses and in clubs.
in the middle of the eighteenth century huge numbers of ordinary people began reading books and periodicals on an unprecedented scale
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