Avatars of the Word: From Papyrus to Cyberspace

By James J. O'Donnell

Book Overview

The written word has been a central bearer of culture since antiquity. But its position is now being challenged by the powerful media of electronic communication. In this penetrating and witty book James O'Donnell takes a reading on the promise and the threat of electronic technology for our literate future. In Avatars of the Word O'Donnell reinterprets today's communication revolution through a series of refracted comparisons with earlier revolutionary periods: the transition from oral to written culture, from the papyrus scroll to the codex, from copied manuscript to print. His engaging portrayals of these analogous epochal moments suggest that our steps into cyberspace are not as radical as we might think. Observing how technologies of the word have affected the shaping of culture in the past, and how technological transformation has been managed, we regain models that can help us navigate the electronic transformation now underway. Concluding with a focus on the need to rethink the modern university, O'Donnell specifically addresses learning and teaching in the humanities, proposing ways to seek the greatest benefit from electronic technologies while steering clear of their potential pitfalls.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0674055454
• ISBN13: 9780674055452
• Release Date: June 1998
• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Length: 228 Pages
• Weight: 0.88 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.8" x 0.8" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

History of the written word

In his "Management Challenges for the 21st Century", Peter Drucker suggests that "Everybody today believes that the present Information Revolution is unprecedented in reducing the cost of, and in the spreading of, information-whether measured by the cost of a "byte" or by computer ownership-and in the speed and sweep of its impact. These beliefs are simply nonsense." "Avatars of the Word" puts meat on these bones. For instance, it teaches that the flavor of modern opinions about digital preservation and authenticity-that these are better served by printed works on paper than by digital objects copied from place to place in computer networks-is hardly new. This has eerie similarities to 16th-century opinions about the transition from hand-written copies on parchment to versions printed on paper. Trithemius argued that paper would be short-lived and that hand-written versions were preferable for their quality and because they eliminated the risk that printed inauthenticities and errors would mislead people because all copies would be identical.

From the dawn of civilization to the Internet

At first I couldn't imagine how someone specializing in Middle English History could have anything cogent to say about the Internet. To my surprise O'Donnell has a lot to say and he says it well in a tightly crafted book that takes the reader from the dawn of civilization to the present. Contrary to another reviewer's comments, I found the predictive portions of the book well thought-out and insightful. With each past shift in information transmission, the world has undergone huge upheavals. We can expect no less as the paradigm shift of the Internet makes its impact felt in the decades to come. Stay tuned...

Original, Well-Conceived and Well-Produced

This book I found very enjoyable. It connects the past and the present in a sensible and imaginative way. The dream of the virtual library is an ancient one, the author tells us. O'Donnell is knowledgeable about world history and about his particular Irish heritage. I enjoyed reading the chapter for academics very much. I think that many peopel will find this book engrossing and educational. Bravo O'Donell!

It's a terrific book.

Avatars is about the connection between the history of the written word and the upcoming of the increase in Internet technology and cyberspace. The book explains how the written word is being challenged by cyberspace and what cyberspace may look like in the future. O'Donnell is a very witty writer, who keeps the attention of the reader. Writing about the Internet can get tedious, but O'Donnell keeps an interesting style of writing for the reader.

"Avatars" disseminates the configuration of ancient texts.

O'Donnell tries heroically to conflate the printed word and the hypertext of the present world. By feeding on the ancients for Latin and Greek sources, the author relates classical writings with those of the sacred scriptures. Aristotle meets Saul; Paul kibitzes with Cassiodorus.O'Donnell himself is not sure where all this will end; it's too early in the first-half to hedge our bets, to see how far cyberspace (the "ether" as explanation for everything in the universe of nineteenth century Western thought; now monicled, "hypertext) will impact (that fatuous term of evaluations) the written or printed text. In truth, O'Donnell in spite of his Catholic, and catholic, reading of Aquinas, Aristotle, Horace, Juvenal, Apuleius, has no solid solution to the contexts: speech, memory, printed work, software; he's in a quandary, and apparently enjoying the fuzziness of the discussion. But nevertheless underlines the necessary undertaking of this word--hypertext forum.This is an important book; get it; borrow it; read it.