Writing and printing first served state administration, not literature

Evidence

We have come to think of writing and printing as elevated arts identified with holy books and literary art, but their immediate utilities were in the practical realm — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 616

Categorization

• SEED: Essay angle: reframing the ‘civilizing’ story of literacy as an accounting and control technology.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 616
• XREF: connects to: Paper was initially used for administration before bookmaking — Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen, The Library- A Fragile History, 163; Printing did not immediately collapse manuscript culture — Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen, The Library- A Fragile History, 167

Related

• Paper was initially used for administration before bookmaking (similarity 0.86)
• Printing did not immediately collapse manuscript culture (similarity 0.83)
• Print did not immediately collapse manuscript book production (similarity 0.80)
• Printing initially amplified medieval texts rather than new knowledge (similarity 0.79)
• Paper arrived in Europe centuries before it displaced parchment for books (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Paper was initially used for administration before bookmaking #corroborates (0.85) — Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen, The Library- A Fragile History, 163
• Printing did not immediately collapse manuscript culture #expands (0.50) — Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen, The Library- A Fragile History, 167