GHIS 6242 -

Institution:

The New School

Subject:

Description:

Chapters in the History of the Book Not offered 2008-09. Three credits. Oz Frankel This seminar takes as its starting point the current hype over the "new media" and collateral prophecies regarding the imminent death of the book, and examines the essential features of, and key episodes in, the history and sociology of the book, print, and reading in modern Europe and the United States. Since the invention of the printing press in the 15th century, books and print culture have been central to the shaping of Western culture and society. Nevertheless, only recently have scholars begun to explore critically and historically this crucial facet of modern life. The seminar follows the role print and books had in the emergence of the modern marketplace and public sphere, and alternatively, their employment as tools of transformation during periods of social and political strife (e.g., the French Revolution). The material aspect of the production of books, their design as artifacts, and their dissemination are also investigated. Case studies from both sides of the Atlantic include the business of street pamphleteers in 18th-century Paris, the reading of handbills and banknotes in 19th-century New York City, and the 20th-century Book-of-the- Month Club. Other themes are the rise of authorship as a profession, the relationship between books and their readers, publishing and state authority, and the effects of Western-based print culture on other lands. Finally, we try to assess the durability and vulnerability of books, print, and information in the virtual spaces of the new technologies of communication.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.newschool.edu

Phone Number:

(212) 229-5600

Regional Accreditation:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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