Have you ever noticed how the internet and the blogosphere closely resemble the Protestant Reformation? The Protestants were breaking away from the Catholic Church, the established source of authority of the time and creating their own churches. The internet is similar because now, anyone can publish whatever they want with only themselves as a reference of credibility.
I am in a Digital Civilization class this semester and am so excited to see how the class unfolds. It is like a semester long analogy of the similarities of the Reformation and Blogosphere. I have often thought that the internet and to some extent, the ability to understand/program computers is the current equivalent of the printing press during the middle ages. One of the complaints I have about a university education is that they don't have very many current event classes. If you want to learn about ancient graffiti in France, there are TONS of classes and some even required. But if you want to know how twitter works or how to find communities of information on the internet, you are out of luck.
Thank goodness for this class. It is team taught by two professors. One is a History professor that specializes in the renaissance, he covers the historical setting, literature movements and the general feel of the time period. The second is a Computer Science professor, he covers the evolution of computers and the development of our digital civilization.
I haven't been able to post until now and I really wanted to record my thoughts from the first day of class.
I'm glad you are posting and that you see the broader connection to the Protestant Reformation. You might keep your eye on the theme of rejecting authority (which doesn't always include religious authority) and on democratic participation or individualism (major themes that develop from the Renaissance forward). And by the way, I'm an English professor (with a strong respect for history!)
ReplyDelete