Table of Contents

List of figures and tables; Preface; Acknowledgements; Part I. Writing and the Alphabet: 1. The historical development of writing; Part II. The Influence of Early Forms of Writing: 2. Literacy and achievement in the Ancient World; 3. Africa, Greece and oral poetry; 4. Oral composition and oral transmission: the case of the Vedas; Part III. Written and Oral Cultures in West Africa: 5. The impact of Islamic writing on oral cultures; 6. Literacy and the non-literate: the impact of European schooling; 7. Alternative paths to knowledge in oral and literate cultures; 8. Memory and learning in oral and literate cultures: the reproduction of the Bagre; 9. Writing and formal operations: a case study among the Vai; Part IV. Writing and its Impact on Individuals in Society: 10. The interface between the sociological and psychological analysis of literacy; 11. Language and writing; 12. Recapitulations; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

Promotional Information

Essays on the complex relationship between oral and literate modes of communication.