The Impact of Digital Technology on Reading and Writing Practices: A Reflection by Roger Chartier
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Digital publishing, paper books, e-books, reading practices, hypertext, Roger Chartier, book culture, literacy, digital technology, educational institutions, dyslexia, manuscript, writing process, authorial intent, cultural heritage, democratization of reading, universal library, digital revolution, book history
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Abstract
The article discusses Roger Chartier's views on the impact of digital technology on the world of books and reading. Chartier compares the relationship between a paper book and its reader to that between man and God, suggesting that the shift to digital media constitutes a sacrilege that diminishes the value of the written work. He highlights the loss of the original manuscript's significance and the erasure of an author's creative process in the digital age. However, he also acknowledges the benefits of digital technology, such as increased accessibility for people with dyslexia and the creation of a universal library. Chartier's work invites readers to consider the implications of the digital revolution on reading and writing practices, and to be vigilant about the relationships between digital and paper media. By examining the sacred character of original manuscripts and the evolution of reading practices, Chartier's analysis provides a nuanced understanding of the complex interplay between technology and culture. Discover the insights of Roger Chartier on the future of reading and writing in the digital era.
Extract
[...] If the fears about the rise of digital are numerous and legitimate, the retreat we have already seen over the past thirty years shows that paper is not destined to disappear. The example of Cardenio, the lost manuscript, given by R. Chartier, shows how a work of which there is no surviving printed version could travel through space and time and give rise to different versions according to the authors who have taken hold of it over the centuries. From this example, we must remember that whatever the evolution of Man, the latter is capable, if he really wants to, of freeing himself from any support so that a written trace endures or reappears. [...]
[...] However, it was not until the 1990s, with the development of the Internet, followed by the widespread adoption of e-books and more recently the proliferation of devices such as e-readers, tablets, or much more recently smartphones , so that the change in our relationship with writing is felt deeply. This dream of a universal library, as mentioned by R. Chartier, can be considered as a formidable opening to culture that was previously reserved for a more limited segment of the population and can also be compared to the evolution that had led, several centuries or even millennia ago, to a generalised access to literacy. [...]
[...] The spread of literacy, the emergence of a wider reading public, confronted with texts, having access to critical thinking modes, has certainly played a role in the invention of democracy. In the same way, the democratization of access to books in the form of e-books allows today a growing number of people from all social and cultural categories to access the reading of works that they would not have had access to a few decades ago." The significant development of library websites such as Gallica2 or of archive centers or museums that have digitized their collections (such as the Musée du Quai Branly's media library, for example) indeed presents multiple advantages: documents can thus be consulted without risk of being damaged, as well as rare or fragile works. [...]
[...] And that is probably his greatest challenge for the future. [...]
[...] This has then allowed a return to the pleasure of reading paper books and shows that the new practices related to the new supports of writing do not replace the old reading practices but rather complement them. When R. Chartier cites Borgès and speaks of a 'extravagant happiness caused by the universal library', he also expresses his fear that this will be translated into 'the destruction of printed objects that have nourished the thoughts and dreams of those who have read them over time, [ . [...]
