Chapter 1, Outline

Following the Historical Path of Global Communication



I- Geographical Space: A Barrier to Communication

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.


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


V- Mapmakers in the Medieval World

1 –Mapmaking was an integral part of communication history.
2-The information on ancient maps, reflected the mapmaker's cultural and religious orientations.
3-Maps served several purposes: maritime navigation, religious pilgrimages, and military and administrative uses.

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.