Professor
Priya Joshi
English 975, Fall 2005
Topics in the History of the Book: Reading
Tuesdays, 9am-11:45am
1106 Anderson
Office: 1117 Anderson; 215-204-1806
Office hours: Tu, 3-4pm; Th, 10am–12n
e-mail: pjoshi@temple.edu
The Class
Our seminar analyzes one of the fundamental practices of literary study,
namely, reading. Whereas literary scholars have long privileged a
singular (close) reader, historians, sociologists, and librarians
have studied the collective experience of reading and rendered it
a productive area of cultural inquiry. Feminist research has challenged
the emphasis on the reading subject as male; the new social history
has taught us that the poor and indigent were avid readers of print
and kept up with their blue-blooded betters; and, more recently,
postcolonial critics have begun to revise the neglect of colonial
subjects in the massive trade of books between empire and colony
that constituted a veritable empire of print in the 18th and 19th
centuries.
The historian Robert Darnton summarized this research
by noting that "we already know a good deal about the institutional
bases of reading. We have some answers to the 'who,' 'what,' 'where,'
and 'when' questions. But the 'why's' and 'how's' elude us. We have
not yet devised a strategy for understanding the inner process by
which readers made sense of words."
Ours is an interdisciplinary seminar that addresses itself to Darnton's
questions in the history and sociology of reading. Grounding ourselves
in the literary field, our aim is to provide a forum where new work on
and old answers to the social lives of readers and the social work of
reading are addressed. We will begin with an introduction to topics in
the study of reading followed by an examination of a few notable case
studies, with particular attention to the methods by which the study
of reading has been conducted. And if we can, we'll make a stab at that
holy grail of reading studies—at theorizing how readers make sense
of words.
Assignments include a graded oral presentation and a 15-20 page paper that accomplishes
one of the following: (1) designs (not executes) a research project; or, (2)
explores how the study of reading might contribute to a specific area of literary
research.
The Fine Print
Ours is a small seminar, so attendance in all meetings is required. Please come
to class on time prepared to discuss the day's readings. If you are unable to
attend a session, please email me in advance as a courtesy. Auditors are, regrettably,
not permitted.
Your final seminar grade will be computed as follows:
Oral presentation: 20%
Class participation: 10%
Paper: 70%
• syllabus
|
• texts
|