Printing

1
Printing

• Volti Chapter 11

2
Printing

• Of all technologies, perhaps none have had the
  greatest impact as printing
• The development of a written language is one of
  the hallmarks of civilization
• Spoken language characteristic of all societies,
  yet not all have written language
• Many cultures that have written language have
  only developed this recently often because of the
  influence of other societies (missionaries, etc.)
• A written language is an essential technology -
  keeping accounts, recording history, transmission
  of ideas and culture
• "Much that red men know, they forget they have
  no way to preserve it . White men make what they
  know fast on paper like catching a wild animal
  and taming it."
• Sequoyah

3
The Printing Revolution

• Effects of written language were minimal when it
  was understood only by a few people
• Before written language, humans developed
  astonishing memories to record events
• Introduction of printing with moveable type -
  originated in the Orient
• 4th Cent. A.D. - Chinese copying stone
  inscriptions with paper rubbings
• 7th Cent. A.D. - Chinese used carved wood blocks
• Printing moved much slower through Europe
• 1400 - Italy playing cards and pictures of
  saints made from wooden blocks
• Johann Gutenberg - developed workable system of
  printing with separate pieces of type
• Printing books required more advanced technology
  than just printing a single page
• More advanced inks and binding methods emerged
• Books printed from moveable type were harbingers
  to the age of mass production

4
Printing and the Expansion of Knowledge

• Printing, in particular, books, did much to
  transform European society
• Allowed for the transmission of ideas
• Allowed for more accurate map making and
  navigation
• Allowed for the advance of science - data could
  be recorded more accurately
• Literacy spread

5
Printing and the Rise of Protestantism

• The circulation of books allowed for people to
  collective challenge the dominant Catholic order
• The Protestant Reformation resulted
• The printed bible allowed worshipers to seek
  Gods word directly rather than through the
  Church which was the traditional intercessor
• "Gods highest and extremest act of grace,
  whereby the business of the Gospel is driven
  forward"
• (Martin Luther on the invention of printing)
• Catholic Church also used the printed word to
  transmit its message but not to the extent of the
  Protestant Church

6
Printing, Literacy, and Social Change

• Protestants, motivated by biblical reading,
  became quite literate
• The people, however, most driven to read were the
  clergy
• Books still very expensive and somewhat rare
• A more literate society could begin to ponder new
  ideas, especially those relating to social change
• The relationship between printing and social
  change is reciprocal - one does not cause the
  other, but rather, both influence the other

7
Psychological Effects of Printing

• Printing resulted in a greater sense of ones
  separateness from the rest of society - reading
  is a solitary activity
• Marshall McLuhan - Printed books fundamentally
  altered societies not solely from the ideas
  transmitted, but the medium itself altered the
  way we look at the world. Reading requires us to
  think in a sequential manner, just as a sentence
  is read from left to right.

8
Newspapers

• For centuries, the book was the end product of
  the printing press
• First newspaper appeared in the 17th century in
  Europe
• First newspapers - poor type, hard to read,
  contained more sensational news than actual news
• Again, one technology is often driven by the
  development of other technologies
• Steam power...
• steam ships and railroads...
• transports report to various locations...
• news is transmitted back through the use of
  telegraphs...
• Newspapers gain relevance as worthy news becomes
  available.

9
Circulation Wars and The Shaping of Public
Opinion

• Mass production of newspapers made them more
  affordable
• Newspaper readership increases as cost decreases
• Newspapers become important vehicle for shaping
  public opinion
• New York Journal (William Randolph Hearst)
  favored involvement in Spanish American War 1898
• Newspapers did not cause war, but sensational
  stories reported did not help avert war
• Other factors contributing to the rise of
  newspaper readers
• "Also, Urbanization and immigration produced
  large concentrations of population from which a
  mass readership could be drawn. Finally, a more
  democratic social order generated an environment
  in which the common man gained in political and
  economic importance as the first of the mass
  media, newspapers were a natural
• outgrowth of mass society"