UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH

SCHOOL OF INFORMATION SCIENCES

LIS 2280 History of Books, Printing, and Publishing, Spring 2004 Term

Instructor: Richard J. Cox

Office Number and Telephone: SIS 648; 412 624-3245

Office Hours: Wednesdays 1:30-4:30 and by appointment

E-mail: rcox@mail.sis.pitt.edu

Homepage: http://www2.sis.pitt.edu/~rcox/

Course Rationale and Goals

The purpose of this course is to consider the development of the book in its many forms in relation to contemporary society, education, and culture. Manuscript origins, the nature and development of the printing process, the reading public, the book trade, binding, and book illustration are all topics being covered in the course. The course will also orient students to scholarly trends in the history of the book, the materiality of the book, and print culture.

Students will gain an understanding of the history of the book, the importance of print in society, new developments challenging the role of the printed book, the economics of book publishing, the nature of reading, the book as an object, and other matters critical to understanding the continuing importance of the book in the modern digital era.

Course Outline

This will be a reading course, following a roughly chronological and thematic review of the history of the book, printing, and publishing. Students will be expected to do the readings (one major book a week) and to come prepared to discuss the assigned reading. The instructor will provide contextual understanding of the reading. The publications will represent some of the most important landmarks in the research and writing in this area of scholarship, as well as include some of the more controversial writings as well. There may be a few guest lectures, as well, concerning the history of the book.

Course Requirements and Grading

Each student will be expected to complete the readings and to participate regularly in class discussions. The course will consist of lectures by the instructor in the first part of each class, followed by a discussion of the assigned readings and other issues raised by the lectures or of interest to the students.

A significant portion of the student's grade will be based on his or her participation in class; any student not participating in the class discussions will receive no higher than a "B" for the course. The remaining portion of the grade will be based upon successful completion of a paper (described below).

The final grade will be based on the following:

§ Class participation and discussion 40%

§ Research Paper 60%

All students who are taking this course must complete the research paper assignment. The research paper should relate to an in-depth treatment of some aspect of the history of the book, printing, or publishing. This paper is intended to enable the student to do in-depth reading and study on some aspect related to the nature of the book and its role in society. These papers should provide critical definitions as needed; review the literature reflecting the nature of the scholarship on the book, printing, and publishing; and evaluate the literature's strengths and weaknesses, including any conclusions about needs in the profession. Students will need to scan the professional and scholarly literature on the topic of their choice. Students can examine historical aspects of the book and its production, consider the contributions of key figures in the history of the book (both those playing critical roles in the book’s development or who have made substantial contributions to the understanding of the book in modern society). Students should plan on meeting with the instructor to discuss their paper in order to evaluate their progress; this meeting can be in-person or via e- mail. This paper is due on Week 14, April 15.

All masters level students are required to hand in a one to two page statement of the intended topic of their paper at Week 4 (January 27) for the Instructor's approval.

Course Requirements and Grading: Style Manual

Students should adhere to the latest edition of the Chicago Manual of Style in the preparation of their papers. Students should acquire, if they do not have a copy already, the most recent edition of Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations published by the University of Chicago Press. This is a short hand version of the Chicago Manual of Style. Any paper submitted not meeting the standards of this style manual loses one letter grade for this assignment.

Students also should be aware of the School’s Academic Integrity guidelines regarding this and all other matters concerning grades. These guidelines are available at http://www2.sis.pitt.edu/sisinfo/sisacint.html.

Course Requirements and Grading: Class Participation and Discussion

Class participation and discussion, as the final grade weighing reflects, are extremely essential for this course's success and the student's educational experience:

Each student will be expected to participate fully and regularly in class discussions about the readings, session topics, and other matters related to archival studies.

Each student will be expected to meet at least once during the course with the Instructor in order to discuss his or her progress and work on the assignments.

Students who do not fully participate in class discussions will receive no higher than a "B" for this course.

The Instructor will take into account the possibility of a larger class size affecting class participation when considering the grade for the course.

Course Requirements and Grading: Incompletes

If students need to take an incomplete, they must request permission to do so from the Instructor by Week 12 (April 1). Students, unless there are extremely adverse or emergency situations, will have until June 1 to complete all of their assignments and other course requirements.

Course Requirements: Book Purchases

All readings will be on Reserve in the SIS Library. A small quantity of ten copies of each book have been ordered for purchase at the University of Pittsburgh bookstore.

Course Schedule

Session 1 (January 8, 2004)

Introduction to the Course; Course Requirements

Session 2 (January 15, 2004)

Where It All Began: Writing

Jack Goody, The Power of the Written Tradition (Washington, D. C. : Smithsonian Institution, 2000).

Session 3 (January 22, 2004)

The Ancient Book

Lionel Casson, Libraries in the Ancient World (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001).

Session 4 (January 29, 2004)

The Medieval Book

Patrick J. Geary, Phantoms of Remembrance: Memory and Oblivion at the End of the First Millennium (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994) [Note: This book is out of print; try to secure a second-hand copy]

Proposal for paper due

Session 5 (February 5, 2004)

Gutenberg and The Printing Press

John Man, Gutenberg: How One Man Remade the World with Words (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2002)

Session 6 (February 12, 2004)

The Impact of the Printing Press in Early Modern Europe

Elizabeth L. Eisenstein, The Printing Press in Early-Modern Europe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993)

Session 7 (February 19, 2004)

The Printed Book and the Making of Knowledge

Adrian Johns, The Nature of the Book: Print and Knowledge in the Making (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998)

Session 8 (February 26, 2004)

The Book on the Frontier

William J. Gilmore, Reading Becomes a Necessity of Life: Material and Cultural Life in Rural New England, 1780-1835 (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1989)

Session 9 (March 4, 2004)

The Triumph of the Book

Simon Winchester, The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003)

No class on March 11, 2003 (Spring Break)

Session 10 (March 18, 2004)

The Debate about the Book

Geoffrey Nunberg, ed., The Future of the Book (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996).

Session 11 (March 25, 2004)

The Demise of the Book, The Demise of Publishing

Andre Schiffrin, The Business of Books: How International Conglomerates Took Over Publishing and Changed the Way We Read (New York: Verso Books, 2000)

Session 12 (April 1, 2004)

The Book in the Digital Age

Alberto Manguel, A History of Reading (New York: Viking, 1996)

Session 13 (April 8, 2004)

Re-engineering the Book

Henry Petroski, The Book on the Bookshelf (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1999)

Session 14 (April 15, 2004)

The Final Assault on the Book

Nicholson Baker, Double Fold: Libraries and the Assault on Paper (New York: Random House, 2001)

Final Paper Due

Session 15 (April 22, 2004)

Collecting What’s Left

Nicholas A. Basbanes, Among the Gently Mad: Perspectives and Strategies for the Book Hunter in the Twenty-First Century (New York: Henry Holt and Co., 2002)

Course Policies

Academic Integrity:

Students in this course will be expected to comply with the University of Pittsburgh's Policy on Academic Integrity. Any student suspected of violating this obligation for any reason during the semester will be required to participate in the procedural process, initiated at the instructor level, as outlined in the University Guidelines on Academic Integrity. This may include, but is not limited to, the confiscation of the examination of any individual suspected of violating University Policy. Furthermore, no student may bring any unauthorized materials to an examination, including dictionaries and programmable calculators.

Disabilities:

If you have a disability that requires special testing accommodations or other classroom modifications, you need to notify both the instructor and the Disability Resources and Services no later than the 2nd week of the term. You may be asked to provide documentation of your disability to determine the appropriateness of accommodations. To notify Disability Resources and Services, call 648-7890 (Voice or TDD) to schedule an appointment. The Office is located in 216 William Pitt Union.