The Violence of the Letter : : Toward a Theory of Writing.

• VerfasserIn: McMahon, Melanie,
• Place / Publishing House: Ann Arbor : : University of Michigan Press,, 2023.; ©2023.
• Year of Publication: 2023
• Edition: First edition.
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (213 pages)

The emergence of the alphabet in ancient Greece, usually heralded as the first step in the inexorable march toward reason and progress, in fact signaled the introduction of a chance technology that hijacked the future, with devastating consequences for humanity. By investigating an array of cultural artifacts, ranging from Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey to the Oracle at Delphi to Luther's challenge to the Church, this book demonstrates how the apparently benign emergence of writing made possible far-ranging systems of organized domination and unprecedented levels of violence. The Violence of the Letter considers how a twenty-six-letter code changed the face of the world, and not always for the better.

Table of Contents

Intro -- Contents -- Prelude -- Introduction -- 1. A Brief Technical Detour -- 2. The Trauma of Literacy -- 3. The Alphabet and Reproduction -- 4. Plato and the Forms of Alphabetic Writing -- 5. The Alphabet and Money -- Interlude -- 6. Letters of Blood and Fire -- 7. The Subject Is Always Alphabetized -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index.