Detailed Outline of Chapter 1

Kaddouri Kaoutar
Dr. Ibahrine
Com 2303
Fall 2007

A detailed Outline of Chapter 1


Following the Historical Paths of Global Communication


I- Geographical Space: A Barrier To Communication
1- How people used to communicate across distances
a- Examples of China, Egypt, the Greeks, A Roman Emperor
2- The concept of Physical Space.
a- "Physical Space is no longer an insurmountable obstacle to human interaction."
b- What was once the "geography of space" has become the "geography of experience".
3- The emergence of the word Communication and how it transformed human interactions.
4- How early cultures created the conditions for Communication across great distances.
a- Mythical images of ancient life.
5- The emergence of the age of discovery.
a- Explorers traveling the edge of the known world
6- How communication was used in Warfare and trade.
7- The important role of scientific innovation and experiments to find solutions to the old problems.
II- Geography and the Mythical World.
1- How ancient people regarded the world.
a- Ancient mystification: Example of ancient Greeks.
2- Myths surfaced in many places during the Middle Ages about travels and fictions.
3- Metaphysical world was "no less 'real' to those societies than was the physical world of Western culture.
a- Attila's understanding of psychological power.
4- Mythical ideas were symbolic among ancient cultures.
III- Ancient Encounters of Societies and Cultures.
1- The physical world and the ancient thinkers.
2- How geography was regarded in ancient time.
3- Ancient geographical boundaries.
4- The importance of the library of Alexandria.
IV- Global Explorers: Migrants, Holy People, Merchants.
1- How migration was perceived.
2- The improvement of farming that allowed the nomads to settle.
3- The eagerness of the Europeans to expand their knowledge
4- The importance of trade routes how Europeans were eager to explore the world.
V- Mapmakers in the Medieval World.
1- Map making was an integral part of communication history.
a- Maps unlocked the unknown world.
b- Maps were guarded by Europeans and considered to be state secret.
2- The role of maps in ancient times.
a- maritime navigation
b- religious pilgrimages
c- Military and administrative uses.
3- Crusades launched the age of discovery
a- Commercial centers become trade centers.
4- How Muslims sought to determine the sacred direction.
VI- Inventors: Signals and Semaphores.
1- Information technologies were solutions to tangible and immediate problems.
2- Regional commercial postal services were maintained around merchant centers.
3- The speed of delivery and reliability were remarkably god in the medieval postal system.
4- Interest in optical signals resulted in experiments by the 18th century in Germany and Switzerland.
VII- The printing press, Literacy, and the knowledge Explosion.
1- Clerks were one of the few people engaged in tasks that require writing.
2- How was the literacy for the common public.
a- Having easy access to printed matter and the means to circulate it.
3- the appearance of the printing press in Asia
4- The social consequences of the printing press
5- The postal service was an innovation patterned after older courier and messenger systems.
VIII- Scientists And International Networks
1- Technological innovations in travel were behind linking nations who are far reaching (Telegraph, railroad).
2- The innovation of the electric telegraph marked a shift between modes of communication and transportation.
3- The first standardization of a cod of science occurred in 1860.
4- The selection of Greenwich Observatory near London as the international meridian.
IX- The international Electric Revolution
1- The general introduction of the telegraph
2- The introduction of the Telephone