The Gutenberg to the web course has been extremely eye opening for me. It has been a very long 3 weeks, but I also gained so much information and learned so much in the tightly packed schedule. After already being in France for a week, I first met the group in Paris. From that very first day in Paris, I immediately clicked with some amazing people. According to my Fitbit, we traveled about 23 miles on foot, which is almost the same as a full marathon. While roaming around, we ran into the yellow jacket protests that have been occurring for a while in France. For our topic in class before the trip, Abby and I talked about the Charlie Hebdo attack that occurred in Paris just 4 years ago. This attack brought on many protests. However, the protests in 2015 were considerably voluminous compared to the ones we stumbled into. It really made me realize how important and massive the protests were after the Charlie Hebdo attack. Even though the protests were for different reasons, it is ample to have something to compare it to.
On our final day in Paris, we visited the Musée des Arts et Métiers. thought it was very fitting to start with this museum and end in Berlin at the German Technological Museum. Both had an abundant amount of similarities, but were also extremely disparate. The Musée des Arts et Métiers consisted of 19thcentury technology including biplanes, printing presses, and even grandfather clocks. The German Technological Museum also consisted of retro technology, however also really showed the advancement we have in technology today. I felt as though the museum today really made you think about how media has advanced.
From this course, I took away a lot. But I think the main point I got out of it was how quickly media has evolved. Around the 1450s, Gutenberg invented movable type with a printing press. Without this man, we would not be where we are today in terms of technology. With the Gutenberg museum, as well as the Musée des Arts et Métiers, it was clear to see how difficult it was to make copies or create texts. At the Gutenberg museum in Mainz, we had our own printing workshop, and I was absolutely terrible at it. This taught me that printing took a lot of practice, time, and hard work. It only takes the click of a button today to create the years of hard work back then.
With the evolution of media, unfortunately came propaganda. Another huge takeaway I got from this course. This was an extremely difficult topic to cover. I stepped in the same path Hitler did in the 1930s, as well as the millions of Jews that were murdered at Auschwitz in the 1940s. Hitler had an immense number of admirers, which was only with the help of media and propaganda. He was seen as a hero in films and on television. To see all of this in person, and be on the same grounds where it all took place was very chilling. Although it was a horrific subject matter, it definitely opened my eyes to how easy media can be used to change people’s views, even if it is just the way a camera is angled.
We were told not to write that much for this blog, however it is hard not to. I have so much to say and could talk about what I have learned for hours. All in all, I took away a lot from the Gutenberg to the web course. Communications has quickly evolved and still continues to today. I also made some amazing friends who I believe will be lifelong friends. I also feel very travel savvy, since I basically navigated my friends to every single place we went. I learned a lot about myself as well as others. I think that traveling and stepping outside of my comfort zone is an incredible way to be more understanding. I learned so much about the French, Polish, and German cultures, and will want to continue to learn more. I definitely want to come back one day.
-Theresa Prayther
Journey Through Media's Impact in Europe 