Lang 1983

Lang, Berel. 1983. "Preliteracy, postliteracy, and the cunning of history." Journal of Reading.

Presents "the supposition that preliterate societies ... are no more than precursors ... thus also that culture, at least 'high' culture, requires the advance to literacy."

Gives two historical perspectives on literacy as an institution. One perspective is memory aid (Plato declared was "a diminution in the capacities of reason.") The second perspective is an instrument of social domination. Postulates that literacy is an evolving thing--culture is heading into postliterate stage of computers and video. Is it reasonable to subject preliterate cultures to literacy as an institution?

Provides food for thought as to how "inevitable" reading and writing (as opposed to computers and video) are for a society.

• Bibliography module: Lang 1983
• In overview module: Bibliography (Literacy): L
• In modular book: Bibliography (Literacy), by Doris Gallemore, Trudi C. Hunt, Jeanne Swanson, and Stephen L. Walter
• In document collection: Reference materials
• In bookshelf: Literacy

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 4.0, published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 1999. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 28 June 1999

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