91Ö±²¥

Book history offers an alternative way of thinking about early modern books, not as disembodied texts but as objects existing in space and time. We will explore how physical features such as paper, layout, and format shaped the meaning of books and reinforced, subverted, or extended the significations of texts. We will also consider how attention to the production, circulation, and consumption of books can expand our sense of the people involved in early modern literary culture, from ragmen and migrant book binders to businesswomen who took over their husbands’ printing firms and women readers of the bible from a range of social backgrounds. Last but not least, we will study books as globally connected objects, both from the perspective of their production (from Chinese paper-making technology to Arabic decorative styles) and their distribution and circulation across borders and increasingly around the globe.  

Students on the course will learn to ‘read’ the material features of pre-modern printed books step-by-step, from type, paper, and format to bindings, book labels, and manuscript marginalia. The course will provide a unique opportunity to view, handle, and study first-hand items from two of the great collections of early modern books in the world, the University’s Rylands Library and Chetham’s Library, founded in 91Ö±²¥ in 1653. We will combine close analysis of individual book objects with quantitative, digital, and scientific approaches to book history, benefiting from the deep knowledge of the collections and cutting-edge scientific and digital expertise of the curatorial and technical staff at the Rylands and Chetham’s. 
 

The unit aims to:

- to equip students with the skills to identify and analyse key material features of early modern printed books;

- to introduce students to book history as an approach to literature and the scholarly literature in this field of study;  

- to analyse the cultural and historical contexts of early modern physical books;

- to develop skills of critical thought, speech, and writing in relation to the study of early modern printed books;

- to develop teamwork skills through group work in seminars;

- to develop digital skills through the use of digital resources and applications and Digital Humanities approaches to the study of early modern printed books. 
 

This course enhances student employability by giving students a range of transferable skills. These include: logical thought; good oral and written communication skills; working in a team; the ability to gather, interpret, analyse, and evaluate sources; time management.  

This course offers students the chance to enhance their employability by studying in the environment of cultural heritage organisations, interacting with staff at the libraries on a weekly basis, and gaining an insight into the skills and expertise required for different roles in these organisations. 
 

Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the key features of early modern material books: type, paper, format, bindings, book labels, manuscript marginalia, etc.

Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of what the material features of early modern books can reveal about their history and meanings.

Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of book history as a field of study and approach to literature, including digital and scientific methods. 
 

Analyse the meanings and history of early modern material books.  

Identify and investigate key problems and issues in book history.

Develop and articulate a reasoned argument for particular interpretations of material books. 

Plan and execute independent research on early modern material books with the support of academic and library staff.

Make effective use of the library resources pertaining to the course, including Special Collections items, secondary sources in the library and online, and curatorial and technical expertise.

Write academic essays on early modern material books. 
 

Collect evidence to support a reasoned argument.  

Communicate an interpretation of the evidence and associated concepts and approaches clearly and convincingly in writing.

Develop teamwork skills by working constructively with others in groups. 

One to one meeting in office to discuss essay plan following presentation

Barnard, John, D.F. McKenzie, and Maureen Bell, eds, The Cambridge History of the Book in Britain, iv: 1557-1695 (Cambridge University Press, 2002)

Darnton, Robert, ‘What Is the History of Books?’, Daedalus, 111 (1982), 65-83

Eliot, Simon, and Jonathan Rose, eds, A Companion to the History of the Book (Wiley-Blackwell, 2019)

McKenzie, D. F., Bibliography and the Sociology of Texts (The British Library, 1986)

Smith, Helen, ‘Grossly Material Things’: Women and Book Production in Early Modern England (Oxford University Press, 2012)

Smyth, Adam, ed., The Oxford Handbook of the History of the Book in Early Modern England (Oxford University Press, 2023)

Suarez, Michael F., and Henry Woudhuysen, The Book: A Global History (Oxford University Press, 2013).

Werner, Sarah, 91Ö±²¥ing Early Printed Books, 1450-1800: A Practical Guide (Wiley, 2019)