Have you ever judged a book by its cover? It’s okay – we all do it! In this course, we will actively learn why and how it might be valuable and interesting to judge books by their covers, pages, and typefaces – as well as how these material facts fit into the larger history of how humans make and use texts. We’ll begin with an overview of material text production across history and cultures, examining early writing and publishing technologies. We'll move through the transition from scribal to print cultures and the hand press period, through the nineteenth-century industrialization of print, and end with digital texts and the internet. Students learn about the relationships between texts and their material embodiments, from stone to screen, papyrus to paper, codex to Kindle. A primary principle of this course will also be learning by doing in a hands-on way. Students will produce prints in the English department Letterpress Studio, as well as bind a book—learning about some of the stages of textual production. The course is the foundational course in the undergraduate minor in Book History and Digital Humanities. For more details about this class, ask Dr. Kvande or click here for English course offerings, where you'll find a course description and the CRN.
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Posted:
12/2/2019
Originator:
Marta Kvande
Email:
marta.kvande@ttu.edu
Department:
English
Categories
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