Tyranny of Writing - Ideologies of The Written World - Grand Format

The Tyranny of Writing examines the powerful role of writing in society. The invention of writing, independently at various places and times in history, always stood at the cradle of powerful civilizations. It is impossible to imagine modern life without writing. As individuals and social groups we hold high expectations of its potential for societal and personal development. Globally, huge resources have been and are being invested in promoting literacy.
So what could possibly be tyrannical about writing ? The title is inspired by Ferdinand de Saussure's conception of la tyrannie de la lettre, and his critique of writing as an imperfect, distorted image of speech that obscures our view of language and its structure.The chapters of the book, written by experts in language and literacy studies, explore tyrannical aspects of writing in society through history and around the world : from Medieval Novgorod, the European Renaissance and 19th-century France and Germany ; to postcolonial Sri Lanka and Senegal, and present-day Hong Kong and Central China ; to the Netherlands and Spain.
The Tyranny of Writing explores ideologies of language and literacy in culture and society, as well as tensions and contradictions between written and spoken language.