Orality and Literacy

Walter J. Ong¿s classic work provides a fascinating insight into the social effects of oral, written, printed and electronic technologies, and their impact on philosophical, theological, scientific and literary thought.

This thirtieth anniversary edition ¿ coinciding with Ong¿s centenary year ¿ reproduces his best-known and most influential book in full and brings it up to date with two new exploratory essays by cultural writer and critic John Hartley.

Hartley provides:

• A scene-setting chapter that situates Ong¿s work within the historical and disciplinary context of post-war Americanism and the rise of communication and media studies;
• A closing chapter that follows up Ong¿s work on orality and literacy in relation to evolving media forms, with a discussion of recent criticisms of Ong¿s approach, and an assessment of his concept of the ¿evolution of consciousness¿;
• Extensive references to recent scholarship