Much has been written in recent months about the role social media has played in fomenting and facilitating the Arab spring, allowing revolutionaries to express their views and coordinate their actions. According to a detailed feature article in the 17 December 2011 issue of The Economist, social media, albeit of a different kind, played an identical, pivotal role in the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century. "How Luther Went Viral" traces the spread of the German ex-monk's ideas through quickly-printed, widely-circulated pamphlets, crude and graphic broadsheets, and re-worded popular songs. Just as modern digital media fan the simmering discontent of those opposed to authoritarian regimes, the sharing of print media in sixteenth-century markets and town squares helped precipitate the Protestant revolution. Today's "[s]ocial media are not unprecedented; rather, they are the continuation of a long tradition." A fascinating and worthwhile read.
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5 comments:
It's fascinating to track the history of communication - I love the 'Luther went viral' tagline.
Another interesting period to look at is the 17th century. The English Civil War was fought as much in broadsides, chapbooks and pamphlets as it was on the battlefield - in fact you could say the modern newspaper was born in the heat of this conflict.
We know a lot about mid 17th century English printing because one man decided to collect all those useless old bits of paper. He later left them to Magdalene College, Cambridge. His collection is only the second best known thing about him; Samuel Pepys also kept a diary.
Thank you for your comment, Andrea! The Economist article points out that although we think there is no comparison between modern communication and that of earlier eras, it is really only the increase in speed that is different--elaborate and effective communication networks did indeed exist before the twentieth century. The English Civil War is another great example of this.
Great point, Julianne. The same thing happened with libelles in Revolutionary France and the slandering of King Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette's name. Nice modern parallel. :)
Thanks for the link to this interesting article. The telegraph helped fuel the continent-wide revolutions of 1848 and radio helped spread the news of the revolutions of 1989 thoughout eastern Europe, but to hear some social media pundits, the impact of the internet in 2011 was unique. In fact Arab governments, especially in Egypt, used face recognition techniques to arrest demostrators whose photos had appeared on Facebook - it worked both ways.
So true, P.M.
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