Wax Tablets of the Mind: Cognitive Studies of Memory and Literacy in Classical Antiquity

by Jocelyn Penny Small

Overview

In this volume, the author argues that literacy is a complex combination of various skills, not just the ability to read and write: the technology of writing, the encoding and decoding of text symbols, the interpretation of meaning, the retrieval and display systems which organize how meaning is stored and memory. The book explores the relationship between literacy, orality and memory in classical antiquity, not only from the point of view of antiquity, but also from that of modern cognitive psychology. It examines the contemporary as well as the ancient debate about how the writing tools we possess interact and affect the product, why they should do so and how the tasks required of memory change and develop with literacy's increasing output and evoking technologies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781134750016
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	09/02/2003
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	396
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Jocelyn Penny Small

Table of Contents

Preface. Introduction. Part 1. Logistics of the Classical Literate 1. Memory for Words 2. Ancient Books 3. Publication 4. The Organization of Collections 5. Retrieval: Documents and Texts 6. The Cognitive Development of the Muses Part 2: The Historical Development of Ancient Memory Techniques 7. The Greek Methods 8. The Roman Contribution 9. Other Advice for Improving Memory Part 3: Writing Habits of the Literate 10. Tools of the Trade 11. Research Techniques 12. Composing the Work 13. Types of Works or Genres 14. Indirect Applications of the Art of Memory Conclusion. Select Bibliography and Abbreviations. Index Locorum. Index.

Editorial Reviews

Combines the fields of classics and cognitive psychology to explore the question of how literacy retrieval techniques and display technology affected the work of scholars of antiquity. The author discusses the development of artificial memory systems that scholars used to locate the written word to demonstrate how the art of composing cannot be treated in isolation from the available tools, and in so doing reflects not just upon antiquity but on our own literacy in a time of rapidly changing retrieval technologies. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews

'The author of this informative and lively study deserves our gratitude for presenting to us clearly the way in which literacy, memory, and technology work together in a culture.' – James W. Halporn, Indiana/Harvard University

‘This book is loaded with sophisticated bibliography, charmingly written in an engaging style free of jargon, and punctuated by humour. Every Classicist should read it.' – The Journal of Roman Studies

'This is a fascinating book.' - Journal for the Study of the Old Testament

From the Publisher