ENGL 208 B1: History of the Book

G. Kelly

This course is about making books, but it is also about using books, in everyday life. There is reading for the course, but there is also a lot of hands on work. We'll look at books ancient and modern, cheap and lavish, mass-produced and one-of-a-kind, my books and your books and books in the lives of your friends and family. We'll look at book culture over time and also here and now in Edmonton. We'll see how books are made, sold, distributed, and most importantly used for all kinds of purposes and interests. We'll ask how we use books to help us to be what we are, want to be, or wished we were. In class, we'll share our explorations of books as objects and books in lives. Outside of class we'll pursue individual hands-on projects. Assessment will be by individual contributions to classroom learning, written research reports, and an individual final course project of your choice.