CFP: Harvard-Yale Conference in Book History: Books and Beyond (Yale University, April 30, 2018)
CALL FOR PAPERS
Harvard-Yale Conference in Book History: Books and Beyond
Yale University
New Haven, CT | April 30, 2018
#HYbook18
Sponsored by the Yale University English Department, the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, and the Seminar in the History of the Book at the Mahindra Humanities Center (Harvard)
The Yale Program in the History of the Book is pleased to announce the ninth installment of the Harvard-Yale Conference in Book History, to be held on Monday, April 30, 2018. The programs for the previous conferences are available here.
Proposals are invited from graduate students (at the dissertation stage), recent PhDs, and postdocs for papers on any aspect of the History of the Book. Our 2018 conference theme, Books and Beyond, especially encourages submissions that situate bibliographical and book historical scholarship within the broader context of media studies. How might a focus on media studies help draw attention to the interplay of form, text, and image in the book? What is the relationship between “books” as materially specific artifacts or objects and “the book” as a medium with its own conceptual, historical, and geographical influence? What are some of the benefits (and the potential risks) of combining bibliographical and book historical approaches with media archaeology, cultural studies, or communication studies? And how does the History of the Book contribute more broadly to discourses in contemporary media studies? Topics might include manuscript, print, and digital cultures; new media; authorship, forgery, and anonymity; readers and reading practices; publication, circulation, and transmission; censorship, copyright, and piracy; spaces for producing and consuming media; and the history of library and information sciences. Speakers may engage with this theme to the extent they see fit.
Papers relating to all disciplines, time periods, and geographical locations are welcome. Please do not hesitate to contact us about your topic if you are interested in presenting but are uncertain of your work’s compatibility with these themes.
Proposals are due Monday, March 19. These should include a title and a brief abstract (approximately 200-300 words), as well as your university and departmental affiliation. Speakers will have 15 minutes to present their work, followed by 15 minutes of panel discussion.
Please direct proposals and questions to Ashley Gonik <ashleygonik@g.harvard.edu>. And feel free to share this call with other interested colleagues, or discuss on Twitter using this year’s hashtag: #HYbook18