Chapter 1, detailed outline

Following the Historical Path of Global Communication



I- Geographical Space: A Barrier to Communication

-There is a difference between International and National communication .While the National communication is limited in scope to the national level, the International communication is widespread.
-Information (communication) is everywhere but this type of communication is perspective.
-Moroccan case: even if the Moroccan Magazine TelQuel targets Moroccan abroad, it is still considered a national magazine.
-In order to target an International audience you should publish in English.
-Herald Tribune is an example of International Communication.
-Today, people are trying to change the flow of information form the South to North.


A)

a -Communication has evolved, transforming the world communication.

1 -With faster and more far-reaching communication, important social and political developments occurred because of technology, each interacting and expanding the potential outcome of the other.

b- Cultures created the conditions for communication across great distances.

1- Migrant populations turned to agriculture and commerce, with trade routes extending outward to distant and unfamiliar lands.
2-During the "age of discovery" explorers traveled to the edge of the known world.
3 -Military conquests and religious crusades often resulted in the intermingling of cultures and ideas.
4 -The printing press and telegraph challenged the barriers of space and time.

B-

a- Geography of space:

- Geography was a limitation to communication in the past.
- Nowadays there is no distance because of the flow of information.
-The idea of locality was destroyed by the idea of nationalization.
-The geography of space is destroyed.

b- Geography of experience
c- Spaces of flow.

II- Geography and the Mythical world

1 -Ancient people struggled to control the unexplained events of their lives.
2 -Until relatively recently in history, the vast world beyond one's immediate reach was grasped through magical or metaphysical images.
3 - As a product of fear and imagination, these mythical ideas among ancient cultures were richly symbolic and were accompanied by expression in art, science, language and ritual.


III-Ancient Encounters of Societies and Cultures

1-When Greek and Arab philosophers and mathematicians sought to rise above mythical beliefs and to construct rational models of knowledge; they saw the world as measurable, even suggesting the use of coordinates to divide geographical space.

IV- Global Explorers: Migrants, Holy people, Merchants

-Traders and travelers are informal networks of communication.
- Trade and culture are also means of communication.


V- Mapmakers in the Medieval World

–Mapmaking was an integral part of communication history.
-The information on ancient maps reflected the mapmaker's cultural and religious orientations.
-Maps served several purposes: maritime navigation, religious pilgrimages, and military and administrative uses.
-Maps are important in history for several reasons which include religious, economic reasons.
-Maps were widely considered to be valuable keys to unlocking unknown worlds.
-Maps are still used for the same purposes but the technology is different.

VI-Inventors: Signals and Semaphores

1-Most information technologies were solutions to tangible and immediate problems.
2-The earliest known communication use of a simple signal system over distances employed fires and beacons.
3- Interest in signaling systems among the Greeks was based on potential military purposes.
4- The French, Spanish, and Venetian navies used flag-signaling from their ships.

VII- The Printing Press, Literacy, and the Knowledge Explosion

1- The spread of literacy in Europe after the development of the printing press.
a) The printing press encouraged the practice of reading among common people and the reformation of medieval European institutions, religions, and governments.
b) Books and other printed material eventually sparked social and political changes that gave rise to popular political consciousness and public opinion.
C) New literacy introduced new kinds of social relationships and networks among both learned and common people.

VIII-Scientists and International networks

1- The changing role of international science brought changes in relations between nations.
a) They intermingled both their shared interests and differences through the means of technology.

IX-The International Electric Revolution

1-The scientific innovations of the 19th century launched the world on a path to electrification of industry and commerce.

X-Summary: Global Immediacy and Transparency

1- Communication as a catalyst for many changes in human relationships.

a) Redefinition of space and time.
b) Increasing immediacy and transparency.


XI- The Era of News Agencies

- They collect information and send then to consumers. Examples of consumers are Aljazeera and New York Times.
- Example of news agencies is Reuters and The French Agency.

XII- The Rise of Reuters

- Reuters Factors: The relationship Between Communication and Capital.
-There is a strong link between Information, communication, trade and the colonialism.
- There is strong link between information and industry.
-Printing was behind the social transitions in Europe.
-There is a link between the flow of information and the rise of power of Empires especial the British Empire.
- Businesses rely on pipelines of information.