Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word

Walter J. Ong (1912-2003) is the author of Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the World. He was a pioneer in the study of orality and one of the foremost American academics of the 20th century within the fields of rhetoric and literary history. Ong was widely recognized and highly regarded for his work in academia, particularly his numerous publications and lectures on the cultural and cognitive impacts of transition from orality to literacy.

Ong was a Jesuit priest ordained in the Roman Catholic church, and he brought his professional expertise on matters of Christian theology to his studies in religious literature and history. He was highly educated in his field, with a PhD in English from Harvard University, as well as a master’s degree in English and Licentiates of philosophy and sacred theology from Saint Louis University. These qualifications served him in his academic career, as Ong applied his diverse expertise to major research questions of the day. His doctoral research on the 16th-century French educational philosopher and scholar Ramus saw him granted a French knighthood as a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques.

Ong’s academic career spanned seven decades, and he was an active and influential member of numerous scholarly institutions and associations during that time.