Sixth International Conference on Communication & Media Studies

Abstract

When we think about media ecology, a number of names arise. Walter Ong and Neil Postman are two of those. Their most popular works, Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word and Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business have made immense contributions to the discipline of media ecology. This paper examines the similarities and differences between both media ecologists, mainly based on both books. It assesses their ideas on epistemology, psychodynamics, and theology and media communication. It also compares both authors to their contemporaries, Jacques Ellul and Marshall McLuhan. The paper evaluates how Ong and Postman, in particular, merged their faith with their scholarship. Both theorists privileged oral and written communication over visual or electronic means of communication, although their approaches to media ecology were different.