Impact of Printing Press on Society

Dog Banned From Park

• A sign bans a dog from a park.
• The sign, in the form of a pictogram, shows a dog with a large red "no" symbol over it, also a skateboard and wine glass.

Agenda

• Housekeeping Items
• D2L and Lib
• ComX
• Print Revolution Lecture
• Print Revolution Film on Demand
• Quiz #1

COMS 1001 - History of Communications

• Course Title: History of Communications
• Subject Matter: The Tradition of Western Literacy

Today's Objectives

• Examine the Tradition of Western Literacy and the Print Revolution
• Watch the film on demand: Print History

Origins of Writing

• Writing evolved over a long period.
• Writing is significant as a technological medium, used to preserve information.
• Pictograms are the first clear symbols.
• The REBUS Principle - a pictographic symbol can represent its phonetic value.

Rebus Principle Examples

• Examples of rebus principle use are presented with pictures and text.

Oral Cultures

• Before writing, words lack visual presence.
• Words were sounds and actions, not tags or labels.
• Oral cultures have a strong emphasis on the power of spoken words and memory systems.
• Oral cultures think differently than writing-based cultures.
• Oral cultures rely heavily on memory.
• Oral cultures are tied to memory systems, with sustained thought being tied to communication.
• No text outside the thinker, and need for someone to listen.

Typographical Cultures

• Written language is organized by discreteness (visual) and segmentation.
• Writing objectifies written words (structure & order)
• Oral cultures have less participation than writing-based cultures.
• Massive archives, history, records, and accumulation of information.
• Medieval society (5th - 14th century) transitioned from primarily oral to typographical culture.

Innis - Bias of Communication

• Communication favors either space or time.
• The predominant mode of communication favors space or time.

Oral Societies

• Societies dependent on oral communication have a time bias.
• They can transmit ideas, culture, and knowledge effectively over extended time frames, but have difficulty preserving information over large distances.
• They don't rely on written records, preserving traditions through story, song, and myth.

Oral Societies and Time-Space Bias

• Oral traditions can successfully transmit their knowledge over long periods but lose effectiveness at long distances.
• The Franklin Expedition example demonstrates the weakness of oral traditions' ability to preserve information when distances are vast. Oral tradition located the ships, despite science failing.

Literate Societies

• Literate societies rely on transmission of the recorded word and have a space bias.
• They can communicate over wide distances.
• They favor space and power over time, continuity, and knowledge.
• The Roman Empire's written laws show how a literate society can preserve information over broad, vast spaces efficiently.

Electronic Societies

• New media (and the Internet) transmit knowledge across time and space.
• These media have no favoritism for one over the other (time or space).

Secondary Orality

• New electronic media (TV, radio) share characteristics with oral societies, including participatory and present-moment focus.
• Electronic media also has differences by being more self-conscious, basing communication on writing, and having a global sense as part of a large communal sense.

Manually Copying Manuscripts

• Texts needed to be copied by scribes.
• Scribes made copies from dictation.

Scriptorium

• Scriptorium was an important aspect of manuscript copying.

Process of Copying Manuscripts

• Copying manuscripts in the 13th century was considered an act of worship.
• In 13th Century copying was an act of worship.
• The goal of copyists was to create accurate copies, but mistakes were possible.
• The process was very slow and an act of meditation to both write and read.

Examples of Manuscripts

• Examples of medieval manuscripts display unique and elaborate styles in both the lettering and the illustrations.

The Transition to Literacy

• In Western Europe, communities were isolated and self-sufficient.
• Time was mostly tracked by notable events.
• Documents had little credibility (low trust).
• News and information were spread orally.
• More accurate information was needed.
• The pressure for literacy increased.
• Paper became available in Europe (1150 AD).

So... to Recap

• Writing is a significant medium in the history of communications.
• There are significant differences between oral and written/typographical cultures.
• The Chinese invention of paper preceded the printing press.
• The availability of cheap paper ushered in the print age.

Print History

• A video detailing the history of printing is available on demand.

The Print Revolution

• The print revolution required significant social and economic factors.

Invention of Printing

• The print revolution had numerous factors that sparked it.
• Gutenberg printed a bible in 1456, an achievement seen as momentous in the history of book printing.
• Moveable type is considered a notable achievement.
• Moveable type was a key component to print mass production.

Printing Press in 1455

• The printing press was derived from an old wine press.
• Enabled the mass production of ideas.
• Marked the beginning of modern mass media.
• The press facilitated information flow among people and encouraged the dissemination of ideas.

The Key Component of Moveable Type

• Moveable type was an important component of printing.
• It allowed letters to be easily moved and rearranged during the printing process.
• Gutenberg's printing press used moveable type to enable the printing of similar copies of documents.

What is the first literature to be mass produced by the printing press?

• The Gutenberg Bible was the first book mass produced by the printing press, according to the text.

Gutenberg Bible

• Gutenberg Bible was the first major book printed using mass-produced movable type.
• 49 copies (or substantial portions) of the Gutenberg Bible still extant.

Into the Vernacular

• The Bible was translated into vernacular languages.
• Vernacular languages are spoken in daily life among common people within specified regions or countries.
• The Bible was previously in Latin, not understood by most people at the time who spoke other languages, and therefore less accessible.
• Priests were necessary for the translation of the Biblical text for the masses.

Democratization

• The printing press led to the democratization of knowledge in 1455.
• The action of making something widely accessible to more people.
• The costs of the printed word decreased significantly (1/8 previous price).

Printing Press

• Marked the end of the Middle Ages and ushered in the Renaissance.
• Rediscovery of learning and literature from Greek and Roman Empires.

Standardization

• Printing standardization facilitated mass production and information preservation.
• Texts became uniform.

A new mass medium affects...

• Production, Distribution, Reception (Audiences), Mediation, Of information and content
• A new medium has cultural, economic, and political impacts on society & social structures.
• Considering the Internet and the music industry brings a current perspective for this topic.

Production

• Production became standardized due to the printing press.
• Shift from Scriptorium. More output, and quicker.
• Both sacred and secular material.
• Writers had a larger audience because of the printing press.

Distribution

• Increased output and each copy was the same
• New spaces like bookshops and libraries created new avenues of distributing printed matter.
• This led to abundant and vastness of written records which spread beyond literary elites.
• Postal systems and transportation further expanded the scope and reach of distribution of printed media.

Reception

• Accounts and letters were often read aloud to others.
• Early on, a hybrid oral/literate culture existed.
• Vernacular increased readership beyond privileged elites.
• Literacy campaigns increased the proportion of literate people who could read silently.
• Printed material was used for debate.

Mediation

• Mediation refers to the factors influencing the presentation and interpretation of media.
• This includes exhibition/display, encoding, and how the media is displayed like in posters and pamphlets.
• It also includes formats, layouts, and censorship.

Impacts of Printing

• Not overnight, printing developed gradually.
• Scriptoria continued along alongside new printing shops.
• Silent scanning had begun before the printing press but print quickly became more pervasive.
• Print reached nearly everyone (rural areas).
• Key impacts of print include: standardization, literacy, mass information, religious debates, propaganda, censorship, public sphere, enlightenment, and Western liberal democracy.

Impact on Language

• Printing standardized languages.
• Luther standardized German.
• London dialect became standard for English.
• Printing led to fixed spellings and grammar.
• English dictionaries evolved.

Postal Services

• These services were established over time in different countries (France and England).
• Ordinary and Special couriers for transporting messages.
• Messages were transmitted over long distances/time.
• News could travel independently.
• Connections between transportation and communication were created.

Print News Publishing

• First weekly journals were created in early 17th Century Germany.
• Early weeklies covered foreign news (war, conquest, etc.).
• Later, commercial/local news expanded.
• Information on politics emerged as a source of printed news.
• This challenge led to licensing, taxing (Stamp Act), and eventual censorship being overcome.

Martin Luther

• Martin Luther nailed 95 Theses to the Church door in 1517.
• The Theses spoke against selling of indulgences.
• Began the Reformation.
• Luther's ideas could not have been disseminated broadly without the printing press.

Counter Reformation (1560)

• A backlash against Renaissance and Reformation ideas.
• The Spanish Inquisition emerged in response to these ideas.
• Limits were placed on printing and spread of humanistic ideas.

The Feudal System

• Feudal society had a well-defined class structure, inherited by birth.

Censorship

• Censorship is the suppression or prohibition of certain ideas or information, often for political or ideological reasons.

John Milton - Anti Censorship (Areopagitica)

• John Milton defended the right to freedom of speech and expression in his impassioned philosophical essay Areopagitica.
• His writing argues for an open exchange of diverse ideas.

Enlightenment (early 18th century)

• Belief in Science over Religion
• Justice over the abuse of power.
• Social contract over absolutist rule.

Philosophers of the Enlightenment

• Rousseau - Social Contract
• Adam Smith - Economics
• Voltaire - advocated freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and separation of church and state.

1775 America

• American War of Independence.
• Government of the people, by the people, for the people through democratically elected officials.

1789 France

• French Revolution.
• Fuelled by pamphlets and newspapers.

Industrial Revolution (1760)

• Application of scientific knowledge to production.
• People moved to cities (urbanization).
• Rise of complex social relationships.
• Temporal shift in life.
• Steam-powered printing helped mass produce newspapers.

Steam

• Steam powered the printing press enabling further mass production of newspapers.

Penny Press

• Penny press newspapers were cheap, tabloid-style, mass-produced newspapers.
• The availability of affordable newspapers was made in the early 1800s.

The Fourth Estate

• The Fourth Estate concept refers to the press's role as a watchdog on government and important power structures.

The European Roots of Media and Western Society

• The Middle Ages, the dominance of the Church, and feudal society.
• The Renaissance, the return to classical teachings, humanism, and the development of Gutenberg's printing press.
• Printing presses disseminated ideas and spread literacy, with new ideas leading to social change.

The European Roots of Media and Western Society, cont'd

• The Reformation, with Martin Luther’s criticisms, and advocacy for a more individual relationship with God.
• Counter-Reformation, a re-establishment of Church and state power, and increased censorship on printing.
• The Enlightenment featured a return to humanism, science, and philosophical thought.

The European Roots of Media and Western Society, cont'd

• The Age of Reason: return to humanism and the application of the scientific approach.
• Enlightenment Philosophers: Locke, Voltaire, Rousseau, Adam Smith.
• Expanding elite class: the bourgeoisie.
• Nature of the printing press and the desire to control information versus allowing various voices with diverse interests to emerge.

Summary

• Gutenberg Printing Press enabled the spread of knowledge based on a humanist understanding of the world.
• Prepared Western society for profound political and social change, moving from feudalism to capitalism and agriculture to industry.

Reformation

• Martin Luther's 95 theses (1518) were important in the Reformation's ideological conflict.
• Printed material, including Luther’s theses played a significant role.
• Luther protested Italian dominance, commercialization, and separation of the laity from their connection to the Word of God.

Printing and Social Transformation

• The printing press acted as a vehicle for reformers and opponents.
• The press facilitated the rise of critical ideas.
• Education and the spread of ideas through vernacular languages increased.
• Censorship became more challenging.
• Images gained importance.
• Literacy and print are intertwined with oral communication.

So...

• Printing press profoundly intertwined with the development of liberal democracy, Protestant Reformation events, and the industrial revolution.
• Transformed communication methods and solidified writing/text primacy in Western European cultural development.
• Literacy continues as a key to Western European social development.

Explore the profound changes brought by the Gutenberg printing press and its role in shaping the Renaissance and Enlightenment. This quiz covers the implications of mass media, including the democratization of knowledge and the political influences during key historical events like the French Revolution. Test your understanding of how the production and distribution of texts evolved during this pivotal time.