Chapter 3 - Historical and cultural context. This chapter include objectives: describe the major events and general trends in media history recognize the milestones in the development of human communication understand the role that these advances played in prompting significant changes in our culture and society learn that the emergence of new communications advances changes but does not make extinct those communications that came before understand that each advance in communication increases our power to convey and record -information. | Historical and Cultural Context Chapter 3 © 2009, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. CHAPTER OUTLINE Language Writing Printing Conquering Space and Time: The Telegraph and Telephone Capturing the Image: Photography and Motion Pictures News and Entertainment at Home: Radio and Television Broadcasting The Digital Revolution Mobile Media Concluding Observations LANGUAGE Major development in evolution of human race Oral cultures required good memories Knowledge and information base grew slowly Accuracy was a challenge Record keeping was difficult WRITING As the need for better record-keeping grew, two problems needed to be solved: What symbols to use to represent sounds/ideas On what surface to record these symbols Sign Writing vs. Phonetic Writing Sign writing Graphic symbols represent objects, sounds, ideas Chinese pictographs; Egyptian hieroglyphics Phonetic writing Symbols represent sounds, grouped to make words, grouped to make sentences Phoenician alphabet Clay vs. paper Evolution of writing surfaces: Soft clay tablets Woven papyrus plants Parchment (sheep, goat) Paper from tree bark pulp Social Impact of Writing New social division based on ability to read Unequal access to power via knowledge Birth, growth, maintenance of powerful empires Accumulation and preservation of knowledge Codification of laws, consistently applied The Middle Ages 6th century: demand for books rose but supply was low, and copies had errors Monks hand-copied each manuscript No standard filing or cross-referencing system By 1150: more need to store information Developments include trade routes, universities, strong central governments, secularization of books, widespread introduction of paper, scriptoria (writing shops) PRINTING China: Paper; Block printing (oldest surviving book 9th Century); Movable type Korea: Metal movable type (15th Century) Germany: Gutenberg (15th Century) movable metal type printing press Gutenberg’s use of | Historical and Cultural Context Chapter 3 © 2009, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. CHAPTER OUTLINE Language Writing Printing Conquering Space and Time: The Telegraph and Telephone Capturing the Image: Photography and Motion Pictures News and Entertainment at Home: Radio and Television Broadcasting The Digital Revolution Mobile Media Concluding Observations LANGUAGE Major development in evolution of human race Oral cultures required good memories Knowledge and information base grew slowly Accuracy was a challenge Record keeping was difficult WRITING As the need for better record-keeping grew, two problems needed to be solved: What symbols to use to represent sounds/ideas On what surface to record these symbols Sign Writing vs. Phonetic Writing Sign writing Graphic symbols represent objects, sounds, ideas Chinese pictographs; Egyptian hieroglyphics Phonetic writing Symbols represent sounds, grouped to make words, grouped to make sentences .
