Appel à communication : “Comparative Histories of the Book” (12 au 15 octobre 2017)

Anne-Louis Girodet-Trioson, Benoît Agnès Trioson regardant des figures dans un livre, 1797, huile sur toile, Montargis, musée Girodet.

Type : Appel à communication
Date limite de postulation : 25 octobre 2016.
Date de la manifestation : 12 au 15 octobre 2017.
Lieu : Philadelphie, PA
Date limite : 16 octobre 2016

What is a book? How is it read and by whom? Where is it stored or displayed? What constitutes its worth? Answers to such questions are manifold, varying not only over time and by location, but also among the askers. Vessels of knowledge and vehicles of communication, books serve as a point of contact among the disciplines; their histories of mutual concern. Material artifacts, their physical and aesthetic forms are of interest to object-oriented fields of study.

Humanists, scientists, curators, conservators, collectors, librarians, and archivists approach books with their own questions and tools of investigation. Their diverse modes of interrogation yield different kinds of information, yet these distinct insights often remain unshared, siloed within the communities to which investigators belong.

This session posits that multiple histories invigorate methodologies and are especially essential to understanding books. We seek individually or collaboratively authored papers at disciplinary, cultural, and professional crossroads that explicitly consider the implications of comparative practices, as well as the mechanics of such work. Papers will be pre-circulated, and participants will give five-minute summary presentations at the conference.

Modalités de soumission

Please submit a proposal of no more than 500 words by 25 October 2016 at : rarebookschool.org/bibliography-conference-papers

Feel free to contact session organizers Megan C. McNamee (meganmcnamee@gmail.com) and/or Caroline Wigginton (cwiggint@olemiss.edu) with questions.