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  1. Home
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  3. The Logic of Writing and the Organization of Society
  • Cited by 563
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Online publication date:
June 2012
Print publication year:
1986
Online ISBN:
9780511621598
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511621598
Subjects:
Literature, English Literature: General Interest, Anthropology, Anthropological Theory
Series:
Studies in Literacy, the Family, Culture and the State
Information

Book description

This book assesses the impact of writing on human societies, both in the Ancient Near East and in twentieth-century Africa, and highlights some general features of social systems that have been influenced by this major change in the mode of communication. Such features are central to any attempt at the theoretical definition of human society and such constituent phenomena as religious and legal systems, and in this study Professor Goody explores the role of a specific mechanism, the introduction of writing and the development of a written tradition, in the explanation of some important social differences and similarities. Goody argues that a shift of emphasis from productive to certain communicative processes is essential to account adequately for major changes in human societies. Whilst there have been previous descussions of the effect of literacy upon social organisation, no study has hitherto presented the general synthesis developed here.

Reviews

‘This is a stimulating, thought-provoking book, full of insights which make one think about a whole range of material in a different way. Risky? Yes. Flawed? Probably. Necessary? Undoubtedly.’

Source: The Times Higher Education Supplement

‘The four major chapters are densely packed with details and comparisons. They attest to Goody’s rich learning, and they have much to tell readers.’

Source: American Anthropologist

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