Introductory-level book history classes have traditionally used chronological timelines to address the background of printing and print culture. The focus of these are on book-as-object, rather than book-as-content, and are typically part of either professional writing and publishing coursework or history coursework. In this presentation, I hope to address what happens when an introductory book history class is taught using book-as-content to motivate research into book-as-object.
Using Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore, by Robin Sloan, and The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, as main texts, I created a thematic English Literature course that teaches book history through examining novels for content. Both these texts lend themselves to further discussion of publishing, printing, and the distribution of print materials—both via sale and library. By using physical examples of rare books both in-class and on a field trip to the Free Library of Philadelphia, students were able to actively use what they learned from the novels and their own research into the history of the book. This work was done in addition to textual analysis and literary criticism. I supplemented the texts with other popular culture references to book-as-object, book history, and fictional libraries, including the Marvel film Doctor Strange and Cartoon Saloon’s The Secret of Kells. By comparing the visual and written texts through the course with research done both in and out of the classroom, students received a non-traditional look at both literature and book history.
About the presenterKelly Jean Helm
Kelly is the College Archivist at Washington and Jefferson College. She has an MA in English Literature from Arcadia University, and an MLIS with an emphasis in Rare Books and Special Collections from Long Island University. In her spare time, she enjoys drinking tea, knitting, and plotting grand adventures.