Theorems on the Future of Literacy and Orality

1      In postmodern literature, the narrator is usually characterized as unreliable. This differs exponentially from the classical protagonist who often acted with clear and reliable intentions in order to create an episodic story line. The concrete nature of print allows for convoluted plot lines and intertextuality, all of which would have been infinitely confusing in a purely oral context. Even more confusing is the choose your own adventure genre that is regaining popularity since its first boom as the children’s series. The concept of allowing the reader to interact with the text and to associate intimately with the protagonist has its origins in oral literature and storytelling. Ong writes, “The type ‘heavy’ (or ‘flat’) character derives originally from primary oral narrative, which can provide characters of no other kind,” (148). These flat characters serve to organize the storyline, but also to allow the listener to identify with them.

2      Historically, writing allowed for interior personal exploration. Yet, with emerging digital practices, such as twitter, personal blogs, and Facebook, much of what was previously interior exploration has become externalized and posted for the world to see. Ong writes, “print was also a major factor in the development of the sense of personal privacy that marks modern society,” (129). Print allowed readers to contemplate the text silently and personally, an experience that was revolutionary for the development of modern philosophy and science. However, print in the digital world has allowed everyone to share personal experiences, from the dramatic and radical to the monotonous drivel of everyday life.

3      With the increasing presence of self-publication, due in part to a globalized internet market, publishing houses are increasingly losing control of the intellectual content that is available to consumers. Intellectual content has always had some sort of gateway or barrier that keeps it from the casual consumer. In his book, Ong discusses the use of Latin as a means of communicating in academic subjects. Scientists, philosophers, and other learned people wrote and communicated through writing in this manner, though it did not translate to the verbal. This allowed for much of the content to remain among a select few, mainly upper class white males. Ong writes, “For well over a thousand years, it (Latin) was sex-linked, a language written and spoken only by males,” (111).  In modern society, publishing houses have served as the gateway for information. Journals, newspapers, and other publishers only publish what they deem to be ‘good.’ This does not always allow for radical ideas to become widely known or discussed. However, self-publishing removes this gateway. What this means for the publishing world, a business I myself am interested in exploring, is uncertain. What I hope will happen is new ideas, that may have been previously dismissed by publishers, will become popular based on their own merit. Publishers will then be forced, by public demand, to publish them and create a more structured discussion.