ENGL 607 The History of the Book

This course will examine the book as an artifact, exploring its manuscript, print, and digital forms, students will engage with the questions asked by ¿history of the book¿ scholarship by working with rare books at area libraries and archives. By literally getting their hands dirty by working with old, new, hyper, and rare texts, students will ask how historical changes in the book¿s form connect to larger cultural changes. For example, what happened when printing press technology made books inexpensive and readily available to a buying public? The course will also analyze the way ¿history of the book¿ studies are being transformed due to the digital reproduction of archival materials. What does it mean to interact with a rare book online? In addition, as the course examines rare books and manuscripts, students will uncover the role of the literary scholar and his/her ability to shape the form given to the literary work. What happens to a rare book when it is edited for publication?

3 Credit(s)