9 Writing Materials

This webpage gives the basic outline for a weekly module. The full module with videos, readings, homework assignments, and other resources is available in Canvas by contacting the instructor.

Introduction

The ways that we store and distribute information are not neutral, but have social, cultural, and political implications for the societies in which these materials operate. This module examines the wide variety of materials that have been used for information storage and dissemination, and uses lessons learned to predict the potential and pitfalls of new magnetic storage materials. The degradation of different materials for information storage can have a profound impact upon political, cultural, and economic development of any society, since it affects access to crucial information and influences what information is recorded, shared, and preserved.

Module Objectives

Students will:

• identify the properties of different writing materials, including stone, papyrus, parchment, and paper
• identify the properties of magnetic materials
• discover the uses and applications of writing materials both historically and in modern times
• examine the political dimensions of information storage
• discover how different technologies for information storage shape how we use and access information, as well as how we manipulate new writing materials

Lecture Development Resources

Day 1

Material science professor gives an overview of writing materials from clay through paper. This includes the processing that was required to convert the media from raw material to a final useful product. The chemistry of processing of paper including the chemistry and separation of cellulose from lignin is discussed. Finally the concept of magnetic storage is presented.

Day 2

Guest history/classics professor presents The Politics and Preservation of Knowledge, a lecture that gives an overview of the history of the book. By relating the materials used to record and preserve knowledge to the accessibility of this knowledge to readers, this lecture demonstrates that selecting a material to record information is a political act that affects who in a society has access to knowledge and whose knowledge is important enough to preserve and transmit to others. This lecture also demonstrates that a materials innovation does not immediately replace other materials used for a particular purpose; rather, several materials may co-exist side by side based on social needs and values.

Day 3

Innovations in materials often change the lives of communities in anticipated and unanticipated fashions. Who has access to writing materials, and how long the information recorded in writing materials lasts, can have profound impacts upon social equality. In this flipped classroom activity, students are asked to examine new innovations in magnetic storage, enabling us to record far more than ever before. What information will we use this material to store, who will have access to this information, and how will information storage on a massive scale affect our communities and political regimes?