Jack Goody’s scientific contributions

... The impact of missionary work and the imposition of literacy on Indigenous communities has been widely studied. The act of teaching oral communities to read and write meant a "reordering of the mind" (Herbert, 1991, p. 167), and "probably changing the thought patterns in them" (Topping, 1987, p. 52) resulting in "the domestication of the savage mind" (Goody, 1977). Later, another critical dimension was added "the printed word" (Topping, 1987, p. 49) which helped colonial powers in rearticulating a new hegemonic process, introducing a new type of authority to the islands, fostering the colonial written word as authoritarian and superior. ...

Reference:

Researching the performative interface in Rapa Nui: bridging Indigenous knowledges, colonial histories and contemporary performances