Thank you for this and other long thoughtful essays on social issues. As an expat raised in Old Trafford and now living in Paris, I learned a lot from this pieces, especially Salford's first pub5lic lending library. Manchester also pioneered popular literary and philosophical societies (Lit & Phil) in the late 18th century.
I reflect often on differences between Britain, the US and France, allowing for internal divisions. One is that British humour and class is strongly verbal, in the other two visual. Adult comic books are very popular; there is a major market for Japanese manga and anime. My young daughter won a medal at Bac in literature and languages.Her imagination is strikingly visual. She never read a classical print novel, but found Jane Austen through TV drama series, Alexandre Dumas through the Three Musketeers movie trilogy. She cherishes both now.
This is quite apart from where Gen Z (the first generation to exceed the Boomers, 2 bn out of 8 bn worldwide) get their information, from social media not print sources. The gender divide between reading and numbers is important. But in this case, making the problem and argument hinge on statistics of "the North-South Divide" misses out how the digital revolution is altering experience of communications both as learning and imagination. I wonder if the origins of The Mill's founders has something to do with it
None of this diminishes my admiration for what you are contributing to the twin cities' revival.
Thank you for this and other long thoughtful essays on social issues. As an expat raised in Old Trafford and now living in Paris, I learned a lot from this pieces, especially Salford's first pub5lic lending library. Manchester also pioneered popular literary and philosophical societies (Lit & Phil) in the late 18th century.
I reflect often on differences between Britain, the US and France, allowing for internal divisions. One is that British humour and class is strongly verbal, in the other two visual. Adult comic books are very popular; there is a major market for Japanese manga and anime. My young daughter won a medal at Bac in literature and languages.Her imagination is strikingly visual. She never read a classical print novel, but found Jane Austen through TV drama series, Alexandre Dumas through the Three Musketeers movie trilogy. She cherishes both now.
This is quite apart from where Gen Z (the first generation to exceed the Boomers, 2 bn out of 8 bn worldwide) get their information, from social media not print sources. The gender divide between reading and numbers is important. But in this case, making the problem and argument hinge on statistics of "the North-South Divide" misses out how the digital revolution is altering experience of communications both as learning and imagination. I wonder if the origins of The Mill's founders has something to do with it
None of this diminishes my admiration for what you are contributing to the twin cities' revival.