The ways in which texts are produced, disseminated, read, and saved are shaped by both culture and technology, and the types of technologies of communication impact how cultures and communities invent, transform, and endure. In this course, students will learn about major transformations in book history from the scroll to the feed. The course will focus on the Western texts and traditions, but comparative developments in the Middle East and East Asia will provide additional context. Students will learn several methods of analyzing primary sources by considering the conventions, costs and constraints which governed how a text was made available to others. We will proceed through themes, with reference throughout to our current experience of the impact of digital media.
Course requirements:
Required text: David Finkelstein and Alistair McCleery, Introduction to Book History (Routledge, 2012); ISBN 978-0415688062;
Grade Breakdown
Participation (15%)
Midterm (20%)
“Adopt-a-book”: short assignments leading up to the final paper (see Assignments) (25%)
Final paper (10pp) due _____ (25%)
Final exam on ______ (20%)