Page 63 - Sst Class - X

Case Study-based Questions

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:
Erasmus, a Latin scholar and a Catholic reformer, who criticised the excesses of Catholicism, but kept his
distance from Luther, expressed a deep anxiety about printing. He wrote in Adages (1508):

“To what corner of the world do they not fly, these swarms of new books? It may be that one here and
there contributes something worth knowing, but the very multitude of them is hurtful to scholarship,
because it creates a glut, and even in good things satiety is most harmful...[printers] fill the world with
books, not just trifling things (such as I write, perhaps), but stupid, ignorant, slanderous, scandalous,
raving, irreligious, and seditious books and the number of them is such that even the valuable publications
lose their value.”

1. Why did Erasmus have a fear of printed books?
2. How did print culture affect publication?
3. Relate Erasmus’ concerns to the modern issue of information overload on the Internet.

Viva Voce Questions
1. What were taverns?

2. What were chapbooks?
3. Who wrote “Kesari”?
4. Name a popular writer of 18th century Europe.

5. When did Print revolution reach its peak?
6. Who introduced hand-printing technology in Japan?
7. Name the autobiography of Rashsundari Devi.

8. When was the Vernacular Press Act passed?
9. Who developed the first known printing press?
10. When did the printing press arrive in India?

Short Answer Questions

1. Describe the Vernacular Press Act.
2. Why is print culture considered a revolution?

3. How did print culture impact the growth of nationalism in India?
4. How can we interlink print culture with the French Revolution?

5. Describe the impact of print culture on women’s lives.

Map-based Questions
On an outline map of the world, mark the countries to which the following authors belong:

• Johannes Gutenberg • Richard M. Hoe • Pandita Ramabai
• William Shakespeare • Leo Tolstoy

Higher Order Thinking Skills

In the year 2050, what would the status of textbooks be? Would print media still be relevant? Justify your
viewpoint.
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