Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word

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Walter Ong explores the profound transformation of human consciousness that occurred when societies transitioned from spoken word to written text. He examines how the invention of writing was not just a recording tool but a technology that fundamentally restructured the way we think, remember, and organize knowledge. By comparing purely oral cultures with literate ones, Ong reveals how our modern…

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Theory History Walter J. Ong Language Writing Nonfiction book Sociology Technology Linguistics Anthropology Philosophy

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