L589
Spring 2004
Ellison Room, the Lilly Library: Tuesdays 9:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Joel Silver (tel. 855-2452; e-mail "silverj@indiana.edu")
Revised Syllabus
The History of the Book, 1450 - Present
This course is intended to be a survey of the book from 1450 to the present, with emphasis on the development of the book in the West. The course will focus on the physical aspects of the book from the mid-fifteenth through the twentieth centuries, and on some of the many roles of the book in society during this period. There is currently a high level of interest in the academic world in the related fields of "the history of the book," "the materiality of the book," and "print culture," and one of the purposes of this course is to help make students aware of current scholarly trends in these fields.
There is a large amount of required reading. Some of the reading will be drawn from the following books, the first three of which are available for sale at the Friends of Art Bookshop, which is located in Fine Arts 121. Most of the assigned articles will be available on e-reserve, and the assigned books will be on physical reserve at either the SLIS Library or the Lilly Library.
Steinberg, S. H. Five Hundred Years of Printing. New Edition, revised by John Trevitt (London: The British Library, and New Castle, Delaware: Oak Knoll Press, 1996). (SLIS and Lilly physical reserve)
Gaskell, Philip. A New Introduction to Bibliography (first published 1972; paperback edition, New Castle, Delaware: Oak Knoll Press, 1995). (SLIS physical reserve; Lilly Reading Room)
Eisenstein, Elizabeth. The Printing Revolution in Early Modern Europe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983). (SLIS physical reserve). This is a highly condensed version of Eisenstein's The Printing Press as an Agent of Change (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979).
Johns, Adrian. The Nature of the Book: Print and Knowledge in the Making (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998). (SLIS and Lilly physical reserve)
Darnton, Robert. The Literary Underground of the Old Regime (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1982). (SLIS and Lilly physical reserve)
Henri-Jean Martin. The History and Power of Writing. Translated by Lydia G. Cochrane. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994. (SLIS physical reserve)
Amory, Hugh and David D. Hall, editors. The Colonial Book in the Atlantic World. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press and American Antiquarian Society, 2000. (Lilly physical reserve)
McKitterick, David. Print, Manuscript and the Search for Order, 1450-1830. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003. (Lilly physical reserve)
Assignments:
1. An annotated bibliography on an aspect of the book from 1450 to the present, in which you will list and evaluate the sources which will form the basis for the research for your term paper. This bibliography assignment, which will be discussed in detail in class on February 3, will be due on March 9 (though it may be turned in without penalty through March 23), and will count 25% toward your final course grade.
2. A term paper, which will allow you to explore an area in depth related to the history of the book from 1450 to the present. The term paper assignment will also include a presentation on your research in class on either April 13 or April 20. This assignment, which will be discussed in detail in class on February 3, will be due on April 20 and will count 35% toward your final course grade.
2. A take-home final examination, which will cover the entire course, and which will count 40% toward the final course grade. The take-home final will be distributed on Tuesday, April 13, and it will be due on Wednesday, April 28, by 5:00 p.m.
Class Schedule: (There may be other assigned readings given in addition to those listed below)
Tuesday, January 13: Introduction
Tuesday, January 20: No class meeting
Tuesday, January 27: No class meeting
Tuesday, February 3: The History of the Book as an Academic Discipline
Robert Darnton, "What is the History of Books?" In Books and Society in History, edited by Kenneth E. Carpenter (New York: Bowker, 1983), pp. 3-26. (SLIS and Lilly physical reserve)
G. Thomas Tanselle, The History of Books as a Field of Study (Chapel Hill: Rare Book Collection, Academic Affairs Library, The University of North Carolina, 1981). (Lilly physical reserve)
John Feather, "The Book in History and the History of the Book." In The Journal of Library History, Vol. 21, No. 1, Winter 1986, pp. 12-26. (SLIS e-reserve)
Nicolas Barker and Thomas Adams, "A New Model for the Study of the Book." In A Potencie of Life, edited by Barker and Adams (London: British Library, 1994), pp. 5-43. (SLIS e-reserve)
Tuesday, February 10: The Early Printed Book
Gaskell, pp. 1-8; 57-77; 9-56; 78-145.
Steinberg, pp. 1-73.
Gaskell, pp. 146-170.
Martin, Chapter 5, "The Arrival of Print," pp. 182-232. (this chapter is on SLIS e-reserve)
Lisa Jardine, "The Triumph of the Book." In Worldly Goods (New York: Doubleday, 1996), pp. 135-180. (SLIS e-reserve)
February 17: The Early Modern Book
Readings for February 17 and March 2
Eisenstein, read entire book.
Paul Needham, review of Eisenstein's The Printing Press as an Agent of Change. In Fine Print, Vol. 6, No. 1, Jan. 1980, pp. 23-25, 32-35. (SLIS e-reserve)
Steinberg, pp. 74-135.
Gaskell, pp. 160-185.
Johns: Read as much of the book as you can, but especially the first few chapters.
Darnton: Read Chapter 6, "Reading, Writing, and Publishing" (pp. 167-208). (this chapter is on SLIS e-reserve)
Martin, Chapter 6, "The Reign of the Book," pp. 233-282. (SLIS physical reserve)
"Forum: How Revolutionary was the Print Revolution," in American Historical Review, Vol. 107, No. 1 (February 2002), pp. 84-128, which includes contributions by Anthony Grafton, Elizabeth Eisenstein, and Adrian Johns.
<http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ahr/107.1/ah0102000084.html> (11 Jan. 2004), for the introduction by Anthony Grafton. See online table of contents for contributions by Eisenstein and Johns.
Tuesday, February 24: No class Meeting
March 2: The Early Modern Book (continued)
Tuesday, March 9: The American Colonial Book
Read as much of Amory as you can, but especially the following chapters:
Hugh Amory, "Reinventing the Colonial Book;" John Bidwell, "Printers' Supplies and Capitalization;" Charles E. Clark, "Early American Journalism: News and Opinion in the Popular Press;" and Richard D. Brown, "The Shifting Freedoms of the Press in the Eighteenth Century."
(Lilly physical reserve)
Tuesday, March 16: Spring Break-- no class meeting.
Tuesday, March 23 – Tuesday, March 30: The Book in the Machine Press Period
Steinberg, pp. 136-169.
Gaskell, pp. 190-310.
Michael Twyman, "The Emergence of the Graphic Book in the 19th Century." In A Millennium of the Book: Production, Design & Illustration in Manuscript & Print, 900-1900, edited by Robin Myers and Michael Harris, pp. 135-180. (SLIS e-reserve)
Examine selected examples of nineteenth-century illustration process to be placed on reserve at the Lilly Library.
Tuesday, April 6: Modern Book Publishing and Bookselling
Steinberg, pp. 170-250.
Tuesday, April 13: Class Presentations
Tuesday, April 20: Class Presentations
Tuesday, April 27: No Class Meeting
Academic Dishonesty and Grades at SLIS: All SLIS instructors have been asked to include the following information in their syllabi. Please take note of it.
There is extensive documentation and discussion of the issue of academic dishonesty in the Indiana University "Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities and Conduct". Of particular relevance is the section on plagiarism:
3. Plagiarism
A student must not adopt or reproduce ideas, words, or statements of another person without appropriate acknowledgment. A student must give credit to the originality of others and acknowledge an indebtedness whenever he or she does any of the following:
a. Quotes another person's actual words, either oral or written;
b. Paraphrases another person's words, either oral or written;
c. Uses another person's idea, opinion, or theory; or
d. Borrows facts, statistics, or other illustrative material, unless the information is common knowledge.
From: http://www.dsa.indiana.edu/Code/index1.html
Indiana University and School of Library and Information Science policies on academic dishonesty will be followed. Students found to be engaging in plagiarism, cheating, and other types of dishonesty will receive an F for the course. As a rule of thumb, when in doubt, cite the source!
The following definitions of letter grades have been defined by student and faculty members of the Committee on Improvement of Instruction and have been approved by the faculty (November 11,1996) as an aid in evaluation of academic performance and to assist students by giving them an understanding of the grading standards of the School of Library and Information Science:
| Grade |
GPA |
MEANING |
| A |
4.0 |
Outstanding achievement. Student performance demonstrates full command of the course materials and evinces a high level of originality and/or creativity that far surpasses course expectations |
| A- |
3.7 |
Excellent achievement. Student performance demonstrates thorough knowledge of the course materials and exceeds course expectations by completing all requirements in a superior manner |
| B+ |
3.3 |
Very good work. Student performance demonstrates above-average comprehension of the course materials and exceeds course expectations on all tasks as defined in the course syllabus |
| B |
3.0 |
Good work. Student performance meets designated course expectations, demonstrates understanding of the course materials and is at an acceptable level |
| B- |
2.7 |
Marginal work. Student performance demonstrates incomplete understanding of course materials. |
| C+ |
2.3 |
Unsatisfactory work. Student performance demonstrates incomplete and inadequate understanding of course materials |
| C- |
1.7 |
Unacceptable work. Course work performed at this level will not count toward the MLS or MIS degree. For the course to count towards the degree, the student must repeat the course with a passing grade. |
| F |
0.0 |
Failing. Student may continue in program only with permission of the Dean. |