Book history has emerged in the last twenty years as a dynamic, interdisciplinary field of study.
This course, taught in four distinct and interrelated modules on ‘print culture’, ‘material texts’, ‘publishing history’ and ‘the future of the book’, introduces students to the major debates in book history. It foregrounds the production, promotion, circulation, and reception of the material book as a relay of culture and a form of knowledge.
It teaches students to attend to the book as a privileged object in the world of things, whose physical form is freighted with meaning. And it aims to equip students with the historical perspective necessary to understand our current moment of media change, in which the printed codex is being displaced from the position of cultural centrality it has occupied for around 500 years.
Tom Mole is a Reader in English Literature and Director of the Centre for the History of the Book at the University of Edinburgh. He specializes in literature and book history in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in Britain. He is the author of Byron's Romantic Celebrity - http://www.palgrave.com/page/detail/byrons-romantic-celebrity-tom-mole/?K=9781403999931(Palgrave, 2007), and the editor of Romanticism and Celebrity Culture - http://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/literature/english-literature-1700-1830/romanticism-and-celebrity-culture-17501850 (Cambridge University Press, 2009), The Broadview Reader in Book History - http://broadviewpress.com/product.php?productid=1855 (Broadview, 2014) and a volume of selections from Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine - http://www.pickeringchatto.com/titles/1245-9781851968008-blackwoods-magazine-1817-25(Pickering and Chatto, 2006). The Centre for the History of the Book, which Tom directs is an internationally recognized, interdisciplinary center for advanced research into all aspects of the material culture of the text - its production, circulation, and reception from manuscript to electronic text.
This course, taught in four distinct and interrelated modules on ‘print culture’, ‘material texts’, ‘publishing history’ and ‘the future of the book’, introduces students to the major debates in book history.
The course will combine lectures with seminars and tutorials together with fieldwork and directed and independent learning.
Assessment will consist of peer review of essay abstracts and three short essays of 1000 words each and one poster presentation.
Coursework 100% (75% essays, 25% poster presentation)
Students will acquire an enhanced understanding of the historical emergence and development of print culture in the West and of critical approaches to literary texts that emphasize their materiality.
They will gain knowledge of some key developments in publishing history during the hand-press period and will enhance their understanding of the historical dimension of current debates about media change.
The fees for this course have been laid out fully on our course fees page.
As course fees and accommodation costs are payable separately, it will not be possible to reduce the tuition fee cost for those students who opt to arrange their own accommodation off-campus.
Tuition Fee
£575 per week
Accommodation
You have a choice of accommodation options for varying prices, dependent on your preferences:
- Standard Single, DB&B: £294.00 per week
- En-suite Single, DB&B: £469.00 per week
- Self-Catered, Shared: £168.00 per week
Social Programme - http://www.summerschool.ed.ac.uk/summer-edinburgh/social-programme
To enhance your experience at the University of Edinburgh Summer School, a variety of social and cultural activities will be organized to allow you to explore and discover the history, traditions, and beauty of Scotland whilst meeting people from across the world. Each student can participate in the social and cultural activities which are included in the course fee. A free gym membership is included as well as a variety of fun and interesting things to do and see in Edinburgh. Additionally, students can book on today and weekend tours to explore the rest and best of Scotland (at a discounted rate for Summer School students).
Other costs
Please note you will also need to pay for any essential books on the reading lists provided and any entrance fees for exhibits and other related fees on study visits.
This opportunity has expired. It was originally published here:
http://www.summerschool.ed.ac.uk/course/book-history-beginners#description