Ancient Literacy

Author : William V. Harris
Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780674033818
Total Pages : 410 pages
Book Rating : 4.17/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Ancient Literacy written by William V. Harris and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 1989 with total page 410 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The subject of this study is in any case the literacy of the Greeks and Romans from the time when the former were first provably able to write a non-syllabic script, in the eighth century B.C., until the fifth century A.D.

Author : William Vernon Harris
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.44/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Ancient Literacy written by William Vernon Harris and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : William V. HARRIS
Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780674033801
Total Pages : 383 pages
Book Rating : 4.09/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Ancient Literacy written by William V. HARRIS and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 1991 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : William V. HARRIS
Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 0674038371
Total Pages : 406 pages
Book Rating : 4.70/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Ancient Literacy written by William V. HARRIS and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2009-06-30 with total page 406 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How many people could read and write in the ancient world of the Greeks and Romans? No one has previously tried to give a systematic answer to this question. Most historians who have considered the problem at all have given optimistic assessments, since they have been impressed by large bodies of ancient written material such as the graffiti at Pompeii. They have also been influenced by a tendency to idealize the Greek and Roman world and its educational system. In Ancient Literacy W. V. Harris provides the first thorough exploration of the levels, types, and functions of literacy in the classical world, from the invention of the Greek alphabet about 800 B.C. down to the fifth century A.D. Investigations of other societies show that literacy ceases to be the accomplishment of a small elite only in specific circumstances. Harris argues that the social and technological conditions of the ancient world were such as to make mass literacy unthinkable. Noting that a society on the verge of mass literacy always possesses an elaborate school system, Harris stresses the limitations of Greek and Roman schooling, pointing out the meagerness of funding for elementary education. Neither the Greeks nor the Romans came anywhere near to completing the transition to a modern kind of written culture. They relied more heavily on oral communication than has generally been imagined. Harris examines the partial transition to written culture, taking into consideration the economic sphere and everyday life, as well as law, politics, administration, and religion. He has much to say also about the circulation of literary texts throughout classical antiquity. The limited spread of literacy in the classical world had diverse effects. It gave some stimulus to critical thought and assisted the accumulation of knowledge, and the minority that did learn to read and write was to some extent able to assert itself politically. The written word was also an instrument of power, and its use was indispensable for the construction and maintenance of empires. Most intriguing is the role of writing in the new religious culture of the late Roman Empire, in which it was more and more revered but less and less practiced. Harris explores these and related themes in this highly original work of social and cultural history. Ancient Literacy is important reading for anyone interested in the classical world, the problem of literacy, or the history of the written word.

Author : Christopher A. Rollston
Publisher : Society of Biblical Lit
ISBN 13 : 1589831071
Total Pages : 193 pages
Book Rating : 4.70/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Writing and Literacy in the World of Ancient Israel written by Christopher A. Rollston and published by Society of Biblical Lit. This book was released on 2010 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : Anne Kolb
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN 13 : 3110592029
Total Pages : 436 pages
Book Rating : 4.23/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Literacy in Ancient Everyday Life written by Anne Kolb and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2018-08-21 with total page 436 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume explores the significance of literacy for everyday life in the ancient world. It focuses on the use of writing and written materials, the circumstances of their use, and different types of users. The broad geographic and chronologic frame of reference includes many kinds of written materials, from Pharaonic Egypt and ancient China through the early middle ages, yet a focus is placed on the Roman Empire.

Author : Alan K. Bowman
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780521587365
Total Pages : 264 pages
Book Rating : 4.60/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Literacy and Power in the Ancient World written by Alan K. Bowman and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1996-12-05 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection attempts to set the study of literacy in the ancient world in the wider contexts of the debates among anthropologists over the impact of writing on society.

Author : Rosalind Thomas
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780521377423
Total Pages : 222 pages
Book Rating : 4.20/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Literacy and Orality in Ancient Greece written by Rosalind Thomas and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1992-09-25 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores the role of written and oral communication in Greece.

Author : David B. Lurie
Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 1684175089
Total Pages : 538 pages
Book Rating : 4.86/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Realms of Literacy written by David B. Lurie and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2020-03-17 with total page 538 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In the world history of writing, Japan presents an unusually detailed record of transition to literacy. Extant materials attest to the social, cultural, and political contexts and consequences of the advent of writing and reading, from the earliest appearance of imported artifacts with Chinese inscriptions in the first century BCE, through the production of texts within the Japanese archipelago in the fifth century, to the widespread literacies and the simultaneous rise of a full-fledged state in the late seventh and eighth centuries. David B. Lurie explores the complex processes of adaptation and invention that defined the early Japanese transition from orality to textuality. Drawing on archaeological and archival sources varying in content, style, and medium, this book highlights the diverse modes and uses of writing that coexisted in a variety of configurations among different social groups. It offers new perspectives on the pragmatic contexts and varied natures of multiple simultaneous literacies, the relations between languages and systems of inscription, and the aesthetic dimensions of writing. Lurie’s investigation into the textual practices of early Japan illuminates not only the cultural history of East Asia but also the broader comparative history of writing and literacy in the ancient world."

Author : Feng Li
Publisher : University of Washington Press
ISBN 13 : 0295804505
Total Pages : 480 pages
Book Rating : 4.07/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Writing and Literacy in Early China written by Feng Li and published by University of Washington Press. This book was released on 2012-05-01 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The emergence and spread of literacy in ancient human society an important topic for all who study the ancient world, and the development of written Chinese is of particular interest, as modern Chinese orthography preserves logographic principles shared by its most ancient forms, making it unique among all present-day writing systems. In the past three decades, the discovery of previously unknown texts dating to the third century BCE and earlier, as well as older versions of known texts, has revolutionized the study of early Chinese writing. The long-term continuity and stability of the Chinese written language allow for this detailed study of the role literacy played in early civilization. The contributors to Writing and Literacy in Early China inquire into modes of manuscript production, the purposes for which texts were produced, and the ways in which they were actually used. By carefully evaluating current evidence and offering groundbreaking new interpretations, the book illuminates the nature of literacy for scribes and readers.