This diploma course takes you through the history of human communications and explains how it has influenced the development of society. We begin by going through various oral forms of communication to show you how they led to written forms. These later developed into manuscripts, which represent a major focus of this course. We carefully trace the shift from oral to literary traditions and explore its far-reaching impact on human communication, society and thought.

The course goes on to cover the development of written communication and compares the characteristics of oral and written forms. We discuss the evolution of alphabets, writing and printing across the world. We study the development of printing technology and explain its role in the transition from feudalism to capitalism. The course explains how improvements in technology have driven the processing and distribution of text and links those changes to shifting historical European developments. We also investigate Marshall McLuhan’s famous dictum that ‘the medium is the message’.

The course then delves into the influence of print on exploration and colonialism and explains how it drove the scientific and technological advancement of Europe. We analyze the changes in perception caused by the emergence of digital media and cover word processing, digital spaces and the effects of print media and hypertext support systems. This diploma course is important for anyone who wants to understand the history of the media and provides important skills for those seeking to enter the field of communications and media.