The Institute of Historical Research is delighted to invite you for the final seminar of this academic year. Professor Torsten Hiltmann will speak on ‘Orality – Literacy – Digitality: Medieval Perspectives on the Digital Age’. Join us in person or online on Thursday 5th May at 5.30pm. The in-person lecture takes place in our usual venue: LT2, Cruciform Building, UCL, on Gower Street. The Zoom link will be sent to online participants on registration
This talk argues that, rather than the invention of the printing-press, the processes of digitalisation in the present resemble the rise of the written word in the Middle Ages, which reshaped all aspects of society, from institutions and law to education and trade. Our knowledge of this medieval transition allows us to better understand our own, modern-day engagement with digital media. Intermediary steps such as recording and emulating the spoken word in the medium of text show how new media remained initially tied to customary ways, but would soon enable entirely new practices of use that alter culture and society irrevocably.
Please note that there is a limited capacity on campus. If you have not selected an ‘in-person ticket’ please do not go to UCL, but join online. You are requested to wear masks at UCL.
Medieval Art Research 