Orality and this class

by Ernie Stanley

Throughout the course of the semester, an ironic undertone to this class presented itself to me. We're studying primarily oral peoples and yet how we are studying them is in this abstract literate method. While I do not deny that our limitations probably forced a literacy based study format upon us (Though I do think the movie content of this class was pretty slick) I think it kept many people from realizing the significance of distinguishing oral cultures from literate cultures.

How can one know the oral consciousness by reading about it? I for one don't think that such a way of learning will endow much more than theoretical, untested, and thus largely unfounded knowledge. I am also suspicious on the endearing quality such an education has in general. I know I for one lose much of the abstract knowledge I've accrued over the decade or so I've been learning these abstract ideas. I've entirely forgotten French and Latin, both of which are founded in oral concepts, yet I've learned about them by reading and writing. I no longer can do complex calculus problems. I have largely forgotten the Illiad, Odyssy and Anied because I read them (though I remember Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star very well as well as the ABCs). Much of high school is starting to completely blur as middle school and elementary school have, and I am sure college will too soon.

Perhaps this is because I did not record such things properly in my paper, and certainly because of literacy, in my memory.