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Relationships Between Technology - Science And Culture - Journalism Assessment Answer
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Journalism Assessment Answer
TASK: The relationships between technology, science and culture are closely linked and this can be demonstrated by examining the advent of communication technologies and the resulting socio-economic impacts. History helps us gain perspective, and provides insight to illustrate how communication technologies ultimately changed our society, our culture, our behaviours and the way we think. In support of this, strong scholarly advocates like Ong (2012), who discusses the progression from oral to literate culture, contends writing is a technology that restructured our consciousness and thought. Baron et al (2007) discuss Eisenstein’s contention that the printing revolution was an agent for intellectual and societal change. McLuhan moves our perspective a step further and contends that, “We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us” (Swinburne 2018). The validity of these theories may be further explored by examining the impacts of Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press and the move from manuscript to print culture. Firstly, Ong’s contention that writing is an important technology that restructured consciousness and thought merits examination. Ong (2012, p.77) states, “Without writing, the literate mind would not and could not think as it does, not only when engaged in writing, but normally even when it is composing its thoughts in oral form” that “more than any other single invention, writing has transformed human consciousness'. Oral culture uses speech or songs to pass information, traditions, folk lore, and ancestry from one generation to the next and relies on memory to retain this information. Ong explains treatise wasn’t possible via oral culture, which is based on recall, aphorisms or sayings and was limited to the ability of only retaining causal links (Aboud 2014). Once writing was invented, information could be stored, viewed, considered, more easily remembered and disseminated, and as Ong asserts treatise became a new experience for the human mind, that also changed the way people spoke (About 2014). Writing not only changed thought and consciousness, but was the foundation of manuscript culture. In manuscript culture, writing was a skill largely reserved for the wealthy or the Church, and books were produced by hand, giving rise to scribal culture. Deming (2012) determined that books were expensive and weren’t widely circulated. He also observes few people possessed reading and writing skills, but as books weren’t widely available to the public, the average person might have little need to obtain these skills. Manuscripts were produced in Latin by monks in monasterial scriptoria, which was a highly labour intensive, lengthy and specialised task. Schiegg (2016, pp.140-141) provides insight by referencing scribal colophons, where monks described their poor materials, poor living conditions, the pain in their fingers and bodies caused by manuscript work and their relief at finishing this challenging task. Of note, as the Church could produce, store and access manuscripts, it meant they intrinsically controlled knowledge and information. They demonstrated more obvious control through a long history of censorship. Deming (2012) makes strong statements when discussing church censorship as an effective instrument for repressing human intellect and stifling scholarship. However, the introduction of Gutenberg’s printing press in the mid 1400’s helped change that. Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press with movable type was a communication technology that increased accessibility to information and had far reaching impacts on literacy and science. Littau (2011, p. 270, p.370) identified the printing press mass produced and manufactured identical books on a large scale and at a more affordable price. Deming (2012) identifies the printing press changed languages by standardising spelling and the availability of books promoted literacy. Deming (2012) also discusses several important impacts of the printing press, summarised as follows: books liberated people from tradition and superstition, helping them become more open minded; scholars and thinkers no longer had to join the church to study, they could now write and circulate their own ideas and be paid for them. Deming (2012) identifies the printing press as the greatest single factor encouraging the advancement of sciences. He explains that as individual results could be more broadly disseminated, it allowed the practical development of criteria to determine truth through repeatability. Further, he asserts that rather than anecdotal data, scientific study became based on “systematic collection, comparison, and explanation of empirical data”, and consensus and acceptance of theories, explanations and experiments, could now be established within a world-wide scientific community. This indicates the printing press had cultural and intellectual impacts that resounded around the world. Eisenstein (1968) provided important conjecture about the intellectual, cultural and societal impact of the printing press. Eisenstein (1968, p.8, p.13-14,p.30 ) discusses this at length, with several points summarised as follows: increased book production created new systems of thought and the advancement of learning; editorial decisions to change layout likely helped to reorganize a reader’s thoughts; the printing of poems, plays and songs altered the way they were “recited, sung and composed”. Eisenstein (1968, p. 41) described the social revolution caused by the printing press, where book-learning became the focal point of life from childhood to early manhood. She also believes stricter family discipline, new approaches to raising children, schooling and religious worship were linked to learning that came from reading books. This demonstrates the printing press not only encouraged literacy, it changed behaviours. As the printed word became more accessible and affordable it had great impacts on literacy and personal behaviour. Ong (2012) observes that print culture enabled the development of dictionaries. Ong provides further insight that universal literacy became a necessity after the advent of the printing press rather than the advent of writing, that it changed “our idea of what knowledge is” (Aboud 2014). Ong (2012) also identifies while manuscript culture was often a social activity relying on one person reading to others, the legibility of printed text enabled private, rapid and silent reading. He also explains, as books were smaller and easier to transport than a manuscript, printed text was a catalyst for solo reading. He explains this behavioural change impacted home design to accommodate private reading. Ong (2012) asserts that while manuscript culture was much like oral traditions where information was copied or adapted from existing texts, print culture was a catalyst for originality and creativity and enabled independent individual works. He also contends print culture created a “new sense of the private ownership of words.” These important changes wrought by the printing press are still apparent in modern-day life. Gutenberg’s printing press was the catalyst for many other important changes that impacted literacy and society that are still apparent today. Pavlik (2000, p. 229) identified the printing press laid the ground work for “the invention of the newspaper.” Fussel (2001, p. 4) explained the vernacular language gained prominence over Latin, meaning literacy became more accessible. Fussel contends the printing press changed the world, that through newspapers, and other printed material, public opinion was born. It may therefore be argued that the printing press was a catalyst of the public sphere and also for the introduction of a very modern communications technology: the internet. The impacts of Gutenberg’s printing press continue to resonate in the modern world. While Ong and Eisenstein’s contentions have been discussed, it’s important to consider McLuhan’s contention that, “We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us” (Swinburne 2018). It may be suggested that as Gutenberg invented the printing press, man shaped this tool. However, given the many socio-economic and cultural changes wrought by his invention, the printing press literally reshaped society, culture, communication, literacy, home life, behaviour, the world that was and the modern world as we know it, meaning this tool shaped us. The impacts of Gutenberg’s printing press clearly demonstrate the closely linked relationships between technology, culture and science. It prompted the move from manuscript culture to print culture and literacy and the move from Latin to the vernacular, making books more available and affordable. The printing press was also the single greatest factor in the growth and advancement of sciences.This Journalism Assessment has been solved by our Journalism experts at onlineassignmentbank. Our Assignment Writing Experts are efficient to provide a fresh solution to this question. We are serving more than 10000+ Students in Australia, UK & US by helping them to score HD in their academics. 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