Q and Ans: Print and Culture

 Chapter: Print and Culture

Answer the following questions

Many historians argued that the conditions within which French Revolution occurred were created by the print culture”. Support this statement with three suitable arguments.

Answer:

Following are the arguments which were given in support of the above statement:

1 Print popularised the ideas of enlightened thinkers like Voltaire and Rousseau, and those who read these books, started Question ing everything and developed critical and rational thinking.

 2 These thinkers attacked the sacred authority of the Church and despotic power of the State.

All existing values, norms and institutions, which were never Question ed earlier, were revalued through debates and discussions by the public in print.

3 By 1780s, there was an outpour of literature that mocked royalty and criticised their morality. The existing social order was criticised. Through cartoons and caricatures, they made people aware that while common people were going through tremendous hardships, the monarchy remained absorbed in merry-making and did not care about sufferings of common people. This ultimately led to the growth of a hostile feeling against the monarchy.

Q Explain the shortcomings os manuscript.

Ans. Shortcomings of manuscript:

1 Manuscripts were highly expensive and fragile and could not be carried around easily.

2 They could not be read easily as the script was written in different styles.

3 Production of handwritten manuscripts could not satisfy the ever-increasing demand for books.

4 Copying was an expensive, laborious and time-consuming business.

5 Even though pre-colonial Bengal had developed an extensive network of village, primary schools, students very often did not read texts. They only learnt to write

Q Write a short note on Gutenberg Press. (2012)

Answer:

Gutenberg Press. 

1 A breakthrough in print technology occurred at Strasbourg, Germany where Johann Gutenberg developed the first known printing press in 1430s. 

2 Gutenberg developed metal types for each of the 26 characters of the Roman alphabet and devised a way of moving them around so as to compose different words of the text.

3 This came to be known as the moveable type printing machine, and it remained the basic print technology over the next 300 years. 

4 Books could now be produced much faster than was possible when each print block was prepared by carving a piece of wood by hand. 

4 The Gutenberg press could print 250 sheets on one side per hour. 

5 The first book printed by Gutenberg was the Bible and it took three years to print 180 copies.