Comments on: Brooding about “secondary orality’ http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2007/12/30/brooding-about-secondary-orality/ a blog about information Fri, 19 Mar 2010 09:20:53 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: JP http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2007/12/30/brooding-about-secondary-orality/comment-page-1/#comment-251217 JP Mon, 31 Dec 2007 15:27:53 +0000 http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2007/12/30/brooding-about-secondary-orality/#comment-251217 Couldn't agree more, Alice. There's a deal of research about that makes this point. Reading rubbish is good, because reading is good. You can improve your filters and selections later. My family read comic books like they were going out of style. This will be the subject of another post, maybe later today. Couldn’t agree more, Alice. There’s a deal of research about that makes this point. Reading rubbish is good, because reading is good. You can improve your filters and selections later.

My family read comic books like they were going out of style. This will be the subject of another post, maybe later today.

]]> By: Alice Bachini-Smith http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2007/12/30/brooding-about-secondary-orality/comment-page-1/#comment-251210 Alice Bachini-Smith Mon, 31 Dec 2007 15:08:47 +0000 http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2007/12/30/brooding-about-secondary-orality/#comment-251210 It does say in that article that children's reading skills improved with access to the internet, as I suspected (even when they were reading rubbish, apparently). I think that's the key. We're probably not dealing with a single culture here, but ensuring that "secondary orality" does not take over is important. Just letting the kids use wikipedia etc for school research is not enough- schools need to teach them how to be who they want to be and get what they want to get from the web, in an individually empowering way. Otherwise they are surely more likely to sit there absorbing images passively instead. It does say in that article that children’s reading skills improved with access to the internet, as I suspected (even when they were reading rubbish, apparently). I think that’s the key.

We’re probably not dealing with a single culture here, but ensuring that “secondary orality” does not take over is important. Just letting the kids use wikipedia etc for school research is not enough- schools need to teach them how to be who they want to be and get what they want to get from the web, in an individually empowering way. Otherwise they are surely more likely to sit there absorbing images passively instead.

]]> By: JP http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2007/12/30/brooding-about-secondary-orality/comment-page-1/#comment-251177 JP Mon, 31 Dec 2007 14:01:24 +0000 http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2007/12/30/brooding-about-secondary-orality/#comment-251177 Thanks for your comments, everyone. Sue, I will read the reference and revert. Have a great new year. Thanks for your comments, everyone. Sue, I will read the reference and revert. Have a great new year.

]]> By: Sue Thomas http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2007/12/30/brooding-about-secondary-orality/comment-page-1/#comment-251022 Sue Thomas Mon, 31 Dec 2007 09:01:33 +0000 http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2007/12/30/brooding-about-secondary-orality/#comment-251022 JP, this is very timely. First Monday has just published an article by my colleagues and I about transliteracy, which views changing literacies in historical and cultural contexts and seeks points of similarity rather than difference. I'd be very interested in your response to it. See Transliteracy: Crossing Divides http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2060/1908 JP, this is very timely. First Monday has just published an article by my colleagues and I about transliteracy, which views changing literacies in historical and cultural contexts and seeks points of similarity rather than difference. I’d be very interested in your response to it. See Transliteracy: Crossing Divides http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2060/1908

]]> By: Jacqueline http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2007/12/30/brooding-about-secondary-orality/comment-page-1/#comment-250855 Jacqueline Mon, 31 Dec 2007 02:27:24 +0000 http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2007/12/30/brooding-about-secondary-orality/#comment-250855 I do wonder if the vast amount of information available on the web has something do with the need to chop everything into neat little soundbites; the increasing size of the media's echo chamber probably doesn't help either. The sentence you quoted twice sent a bit of a chill down my spine, however, because I really do believe that although the new media should be bringing people closer together (and in some ways it does), it is actually making it easier to filter out dissenters and opposing viewpoints. The need to examine thoughts and ideas seems to have been forsaken in favor of catchphrases and a love of sensationalism. Perhaps it is just the activist/idealist in me, but I think that reading (actual books and literature) gives people the courage to examine their beliefs and question authority. I do wonder if the vast amount of information available on the web has something do with the need to chop everything into neat little soundbites; the increasing size of the media’s echo chamber probably doesn’t help either.

The sentence you quoted twice sent a bit of a chill down my spine, however, because I really do believe that although the new media should be bringing people closer together (and in some ways it does), it is actually making it easier to filter out dissenters and opposing viewpoints. The need to examine thoughts and ideas seems to have been forsaken in favor of catchphrases and a love of sensationalism.

Perhaps it is just the activist/idealist in me, but I think that reading (actual books and literature) gives people the courage to examine their beliefs and question authority.

]]> By: FND http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2007/12/30/brooding-about-secondary-orality/comment-page-1/#comment-250736 FND Sun, 30 Dec 2007 20:04:04 +0000 http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2007/12/30/brooding-about-secondary-orality/#comment-250736 @JP: That's probably because of the oft-cited "information overload" (which is sort of a misnomer anyway); with all this information available at our fingertips, we feel like we need to know it all, so the time we can invest for each issue individually keeps decreasing... @JP: That’s probably because of the oft-cited “information overload” (which is sort of a misnomer anyway); with all this information available at our fingertips, we feel like we need to know it all, so the time we can invest for each issue individually keeps decreasing…

]]> By: JP http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2007/12/30/brooding-about-secondary-orality/comment-page-1/#comment-250732 JP Sun, 30 Dec 2007 19:52:32 +0000 http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2007/12/30/brooding-about-secondary-orality/#comment-250732 Ironic indeed. I guess one of the leading indicators of people's disinterest in reading is the need for everything to be shorter and shorter, brief to the point of absurdity. Dinosaurs like me just don't get that. Ironic indeed. I guess one of the leading indicators of people’s disinterest in reading is the need for everything to be shorter and shorter, brief to the point of absurdity. Dinosaurs like me just don’t get that.

]]> By: FND http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2007/12/30/brooding-about-secondary-orality/comment-page-1/#comment-250730 FND Sun, 30 Dec 2007 19:50:34 +0000 http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2007/12/30/brooding-about-secondary-orality/#comment-250730 Thanks for this very insightful posting, JP (and Halley Suitt, and Caleb Crain of course)! I too, had never really thought about those implications - but it's definitely an important issue. However, I tend to agree with Alice; while the stereotypical <em>homo modernis</em>* might be the popcorn-munching TV viewer, an increasing number of people today are using the web as their main source of information (for better or worse) - and that mainly means text-based media. (Whether blogs and social news sites can/should actually replace traditional MSM and journalism, that's a very different issue though... ) * yes, I just made that up - and yes, I hardly know any Latin (unfortunately) Thanks for this very insightful posting, JP (and Halley Suitt, and Caleb Crain of course)!
I too, had never really thought about those implications – but it’s definitely an important issue.

However, I tend to agree with Alice; while the stereotypical homo modernis* might be the popcorn-munching TV viewer, an increasing number of people today are using the web as their main source of information (for better or worse) – and that mainly means text-based media.
(Whether blogs and social news sites can/should actually replace traditional MSM and journalism, that’s a very different issue though… )

* yes, I just made that up – and yes, I hardly know any Latin (unfortunately)

]]> By: NameWithheld http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2007/12/30/brooding-about-secondary-orality/comment-page-1/#comment-250713 NameWithheld Sun, 30 Dec 2007 19:33:34 +0000 http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2007/12/30/brooding-about-secondary-orality/#comment-250713 Ironically, the article, and indeed this very blog posting, were "TLDR" - too long, didn't read. (No trolling intended.) Ironically, the article, and indeed this very blog posting, were “TLDR” – too long, didn’t read.
(No trolling intended.)

]]> By: JP http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2007/12/30/brooding-about-secondary-orality/comment-page-1/#comment-250676 JP Sun, 30 Dec 2007 17:13:08 +0000 http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2007/12/30/brooding-about-secondary-orality/#comment-250676 Alice, that's what I thought. The Pew research suggests otherwise, that we are not "still reading, and comparing texts", without coming near " a lot more than before".... Till I saw the article I was pretty relaxed about the trends, accepting that the youth of today were finding newer and different ways. Now I wonder whether I'm looking at a narrow segment of society..... Alice, that’s what I thought. The Pew research suggests otherwise, that we are not “still reading, and comparing texts”, without coming near ” a lot more than before”….

Till I saw the article I was pretty relaxed about the trends, accepting that the youth of today were finding newer and different ways. Now I wonder whether I’m looking at a narrow segment of society…..

]]>