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History of the Book WRIT.4720
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Learning Objectives and Evaluation
Syllabi
First Term Lectures and Readings
The Swerve
A Collage of student answers on reading and writing
What is writing, a text, a book, print culture?
We love the History of the Book!
What is the History of the Book?
New Historicism
Thomas R. Adams and Nicolas Barker “A New Model for the Study of the Book”
Adams and Barker 1993
Bibliography
The Communication Circuit and Rigaud’s Book’s Business
Congreve’s woes
Ephemera and Periodicals
From Homo loquens to Homo scriptor
Old World Civilizations
Proto-writing: cave paintings
The Middle Ages
Ancient Scripts
Early writing: The Pictograph, Phonogram & Rebus
The Middle Ages
Visit to Fisher Rare Books Library
Second Term Lectures and Readings
Folktales and Fairy tales
Traditional Fairytales and Harry Potter
The Advent of Print
The Renaissance (1400-1560)
Grimoires & Magic Books Magic & Ancient Society
Oral (Tribal), Scribal, and Typographical Cultures
The Enlightenment
L’Encyclopédie, ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers
The Author
Barthes & Foucault Summary
Authors, Texts, and Readers
Fiction & the Imagination: Great Characters & their Power
TATTOOS: THE BODY AS A BOOK
The Book as an Object and a Work of Art
Last visit to Fisher Rare Books Library
Censorship and Obscenity
Assignments
Quizzes
Personal Statement
Early Writing in the World
Group Presentation Guidelines
Proposal (Book Quest: Part I)
Books for the Quest
Research
Questions to ponder
Tests
Essay (Book Quest Part II)
MLA format
Quoting
Seminar
Possible Topics for Seminar
Seminar Guidelines
Readings
First Term Readings
Second Term Readings
Many scripts but only one alphabet
Readings
First term
Second term