The future of literacy, circa 1978

The future of literacy, produced by WTWC, is a recorded lecture presented at the University of Illinois by Dr. Walter Ong in which Dr. Ong discusses the importance of literacy in response to a recent lack of interest in reading. Dr. Ong discusses the history and influence of alphabetic writing over time and describes the present as an oral and aural culture in which individuals place less emphasis on literacy. He also provides a description of oral and aural cultures as lacking intellectualism and preservation and argues on behalf of increased literature in the future, as he believes reading and writing are necessary to society. The program also includes a question and answer session after Dr, Ong's speech, circa 1978. (Portions of this description were derived from the original NFCB Program Service Catalog.)