Dr. Roxanne Kent-Drury

Department of English

Northern Kentucky University

Highland Heights, KY 41099

LA527

Office: (859) 572-6636

Fax: (859) 572-6093

rkdrury@nku.edu

http://www.nku.edu/~rkdrury/

 

Course syllabus: http://www.nku.edu/~rkdrury/726/s15726_syl.html

Course schedule: http://www.nku.edu/~rkdrury/726/s15726_sched.html

Online Office Hours: by appointment, we can talk on the phone. Email me to set up a time. I am also on email 2-3 times a day.

 

ENG 726. History of Reading & Writing Practices

 

Purpose and Scope of Course

 

The study of book production and reception history is a significant, international, interdisciplinary field that has emerged in the last 15 years in the Humanities and in English Studies. Broadly, it encompasses and theorizes immense territory. A working definition, however, is offered by the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading, and Publishing in its definition of book history:

 

[T]he history of the book is not only about books per se: broadly speaking, it concerns the creation, dissemination, and reception of script and print, including newspapers, periodicals, and ephemera. Book historians study the social, cultural, and economic history of authorship; the history of the book trade, copyright, censorship, and underground publishing; the publishing histories of particular literary works, authors, editors, imprints, and literary agents; the spread of literacy and book distribution; canon formation and the politics of literary criticism; libraries, reading habits, and reader response. (http://www.sharpweb.org/intro.html).

 

We cannot cover the entire field in one course, nor can any single scholar claim complete knowledge of it. In fact, courses in the History of the Book are sometimes taught from the perspectives of other disciplines, such as History or Art. Although we will spend time reading about some aspects of the technology of the book, we will focus more broadly on book culture.

 

There is no seminar paper required for this course; instead, your job this term is to read extensively to gain an overview of this field, write reflectively on this reading in your reading journal on Blackboard, write two essays for posting to the course blog, and visit and report on material located in an excellent rare book room; e.g., the one maintained at the main branch of the Cincinnati Public Library or another one that I approve in advance.

 

Some of the readings are quite dense, others quite easy. Don’t despair, and stay positive and professional! The point of the blog posts is to clarify and reflect.

 

Learning Objectives

 

In this course, students will

 

Notes on Web Courses

 

Web courses take considerable self-motivation and the ability to process abstract ideas and concepts independently. In our course, a class blog is included to provide a forum for class discussion. Please be aware that although web courses make it possible for you to earn credit independently from the on-campus classroom, work must be completed according to the class schedule to facilitate interaction with your fellow students, a requirement in this course. Although most of the course is set up so that you can complete work asynchronously (i.e., everyone need not be online at the same time), you must follow the course and blog posting schedule carefully. I strongly suggest that you print out the schedule to ensure that you don’t miss any due dates. Please note that late posts and comment responses inconvenience the whole class and will not receive credit, though you must post all assignments to receive a passing grade in the course.

 

Course Materials

 

Textbooks

 

Finkelstein, David and Alistair McCleery, eds. The Book History Reader. 2nd ed. London & New York: Routledge. (Please order from an online bookseller such as Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble.)

 

Towheed, Shafquat, Rosalind Crone, and Katie Halsey, eds. The History of Reading. London & New York: Routledge, 2011. (Please order from an online bookseller such as Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble.)

 

OPTIONAL: Finkelstein, David and Alistair McCleery, eds. An Introduction to Book History. London & New York: Routledge, 2005. (This book is simply a summary of the Finkelstein-McCleery book described above.)

 

Other Materials

Each week, beginning on Monday, a number of links to websites that pertain to the week’s topic will become available to you in Blackboard. You are expected to explore these sites and comment on them, along with the readings, in your blog posts and responses to your colleagues in the class.

 

 

Technical Information.

 

Downloads.  During the first few days of the term, if at all possible, you should ensure that you have the following software installed on your computer:

 

  1. Flash Viewer (check http://www.adobe.com for the most recent version)
  2. Adobe Acrobat Reader (download from http://www.adobe.com)
  3. At least two internet browsers (i.e., Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox—available from http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/ie.html). (Note that although most people use Internet Explorer, many web publishing projects are optimized for Firefox. Other browsers include Google Chrome and Safari. Notes on browsers:
    1. It is a good idea to set your internet options in each browser to save no more than 1 day of browsing and to delete your browsing history upon exiting the browser. Note that Google Chrome does not have this feature, and you will need to delete your browsing history manually if you use it.
    2. If a site is difficult to view in one browser, try another.

 

Other readers/viewers may be necessary to view some of the sites I will ask you to visit from within Blackboard. If I send you to a site, and you are prompted to download a particular viewer, you must be prepared to download it when prompted. Note that the sites I recommend are carefully vetted, trustworthy sites, and that deciding not to view them is not an option. Email me if problems arise.

 

Submitting your work. Material you post to the class blog and to your reading journal is considered submitted.Your classmates will comment on your work on the class blog; occasionally I will comment, but only after the deadline for comments has passed. I do, however, read everything you write week by week and may contact you by email if an issue arises.

 

Instructor Support. Shorter consultations can take place by email. For more detailed/complex questions, I am available for individual face-to-face consultations during part of the term. At other times, I can make myself available to you via the web or by telephone. Please email if you need to set up a consultation or if you have questions.

 

Internet Connections. Please also note that your life in the course will be much easier if you have a reasonably good internet connection, as some of the sites viewed through dialup can be painstakingly slow. Note that dialup will not be fast enough to permit your participation in the class.

 

Backup Plans. Please establish an emergency plan for backing up your data and completing the course assignments on time. If you do not already back up your data, consider coming up with a way to do that now. Also, think about how you will turn in your work, for instance, if your cable modem goes out, if your computer fails, or if you are traveling.

 

If you have any trouble whatsoever, please email me immediately. With rare exceptions, I will be on email at least 2-3 times a day and, if necessary, I will get back to you immediately with a telephone number so that we consult.

 

Grading

 

Grading in this course will be calculated based upon the following:

 

Category

Percentage

·         DB posts on readings (submit to the appropriate DB forum)

o    Blog posts, published on readings weekly by Friday at midnight

o    Comments for each blog post except your own, published by Sunday at midnight.

70%

50%
20%

·         Rare Book Room Report (submit to class blog)

30%

Total

100%

Every component of every assignment must be submitted to receive a passing grade in the course.

 

Major assignments will be graded according to these categories:

 

A

Truly outstanding, unique, exceptional achievement; true originality, and the ability to think deeply and analytically about the materials.

90-100%

B

Exceeds all or most expectations and shows originality and depth of analytical thought (the minimimum standard for a graduate student)

80-89%

C

Meets all or most expectations, but shows little originality or analytical thought (below standard for a graduate student)

70-79%

D/F

Meets some or few expectations

69% or below

 

Grading Scheme

 

Beginning with the Fall 2009 term, NKU now requires all instructors to use a "+/- scale" when assigning grades. In this course, the following percentages equate to grades as follows:

 

%

Grade

%

Grade

%

Grade

%

Grade

%

Grade

N/A*

A+

87-89

B+

77-79

C+

67-69

D+

Below 60

F

93+

A

83-86

B

73-76

C

60-66

D

 

 

90-92

A-

80-82

B+

70-72

C-

N/A

D-*

 

 

*NKU does not recognize the grades "A+," "D-," "F+," and "F-."

 

Assignments

 

This course is intended to introduce you to a broad historical field; consequently, most of the work you do in the course will consist of reading, reflecting, and communicating in writing with others in the course. Some readings will be less accessible than others. You are expected to do your best with both. General, dismissive comments are not considered college level, much less graduate level.

 

Class Discussion Board (70%)

 

The primary venue for communication among everyone in our the course will be the class discussion board, located in Blackboard.

 

Each week, as scheduled, you are expected (1) to submit a blog post to the class discussion board by Friday at midnight, and (2) by Sunday at midnight to submit comments on three of the blog posts earlier submitted by others.

 

Everyone in the course has access to the course blog. Consequently, respectful, collegial, graduate level writing and commentary is expected at all times on the course blog—no exceptions.

 

DB Posts.

For the purposes of this course, a Discssion Board post (DB) is defined as a response of around 300-500 words.

 

Your posts should be considered formal writing assignments and are expected to be grammatically correct and well written; consequently, you should to compose them off line in a word processing program. Please note that if you use a word processing program, you should save your document in Rich Text Format (as a *.rtf file) to avoid readability issues and weird formatting tags in your post. Another option is to write your posts using a program such as Wordpad or Notepad, which do not include the style tags of programs such as MSWord.

 

Late posts will not receive credit, although they must be posted to obtain a passing grade in the class. Please note that all posts are time and date stamped to Eastern Standard Time. You can post from anywhere, but if you leave the EST zone, you need to take this into account to ensure that your post is received on time.

 

Comments

For the purposes of this course, a comment is a response to a classmate's DB post. Comments are expected to demonstrate the following:

  1. You have read the materials assigned up to that point in the term
  2. You have read and reflected on your colleague's DB post
  3. you have something important and cogent to say about both.

 

You are required to submit a comment on the DB posts of three others.

 

Your comments to the posts of your classmates are expected to be written in a collegial, thoughtful, substantive, and helpful manner. Bear in mind that everyone in the course has a different level of expertise, but that everyone in the course has a lot to learn, as well as a lot to contribute. Unreflective positive comments are also not helpful (i.e., “Nice post” by itself is not substantive, helpful, or thoughtful, although it may be collegial). Unhelpful or inappropriate comments will automatically lose at least half-credit.

 

Rare Book Room Report. (30%)

 

This course focuses on the book as a material object and its impact on human culture, yet we are meeting and producing text via internet technologies. This assignment is intended as your immersion in the book as a material object influenced by and influencing human culture and embedded in an historical context.

 

For this assignment, you are required to visit the Rare Book room of the Cincinnati Public Library (Downtown) and write a complete report thoroughly describing at least one book you consulted there. The book you choose must have been published before 1900. (Occasionally students are from outside the Cincinnati Metropolitan area. If so, you may propose another rare book room, but the alternative site must be approved by me.)

 

As you begin to plan, you need to identify what items you want to see. There is no separate "rare book room search," so you might try using the Catalog Search at http://catalog.cincinnatilibrary.org/iii/encore/home?lang=eng&suite=cobalt&advancedSearch=true&searchString=. For search years, enter 1500-1900. Enter the Main Library as the location. Then enter at least one key word, and click "Search." Check the results for a work that is housed in "Special Collections."

 

You will need to identify two or three items you would like to see well ahead of time, and email me the titles for approval. I will send you my comments by separate email. This will ensure that there is no overlap between students in the class (as happened during a previous term when some students arrived without a plan and were handed the same book several times).

 

Once you receive my approval, email the rare book room at least a week ahead of time with the following information:

  1. The names, authors, and call numbers of the items you would like to see, and
  2. The days/times you plan to go.

This will allow the librarians time to page the books, which are stored in the archives.

Once you arrive, you will be required by the librarians to complete an application for access; be sure to bring with you a picture id, and be prepared to surrender it for as long as you are in the rare book room.

 

You should plan for a stay of at least a couple of hours to ensure that you have the time to gather information for your report. Parking on the street is not recommended (meters are available only for 30 minutes). A map to the library and information about parking garages near the library are available at http://www.cincinnatilibrary.org/main/howgetto.asp. Be sure to bring paper and pencils with you; you will not be permitted to write using an ink pen, although you may be allowed to use a laptop. If you hope to take a digital photograph of the book, be certain that you ask first, and do not use a flash. Lockers are available, free of charge, for coats, purses, laptop bags, etc.

 

By the time this assignment is due, you will have read broadly about the history of the book in Europe, Great Britain, and the United States. You will have read less about book history in other parts of the world. You should, then, have at least some context for beginning to place the book you consult in a context, especially if it was published in English.

 

Your report must include all of the following information:

 

  1. Complete title of the book
  2. Author(s)
  3. Editor(s) (if any)
  4. Publisher (if any)
  5. Printer
  6. Place of publication
  7. Year of publication
  8. Edition
  9. Physical description of the book (size, binding, condition)
  10. Contents of the book (you will need to read it there)
  11. Comparison between the library catalog record for the book and the physical book itself. Consult both the item record and the catalog record for the book you want to see. What can you learn from what is listed there? When you actually looked at the book, was the catalog record correct? (Note—the library catalog records have been found, on occasion, to be incorrect)
  12. If possible, a comparison between this edition and others if the library owns others
  13. A bibliography of as many other editions of this book as you can locate. The following can be helpful in this regard
    1. If it is a much-published work (e.g., Robinson Crusoe), it is likely that someone has already published a bibliography of other editions. (Consequently, if you choose a popular title such as this one, this portion of your report would be unmanageable as well as redundant for the purposes of this assignment)
    2. If the work was published in Great Britain before 1800, consult the English Short Tit le Catalog (ESTC), maintained by the British Library at http://estc.bl.uk/
    3. Search Worldcat at http://library.nku.edu/find_books_and_more/other_collections.php
  14. Your comments on the experience and what you learned

Please also consult the following resources as you plan your visit to the rare book room:

  1. The rules and regulations governing Cincinnati Public Library’s rare book room, as well as the hours the rare book room is open, are published at http://www.cincinnatilibrary.org/main/rb.asp.
  2. Try searching the library’s catalog at http://www.cincinnatilibrary.org/search.asp?view=advanced to identify what book you would like to consult when you go to the library. Note that you will not normally be able to physically handle a book that is in one of the display cases, so identify more than one item you would like to see, just in case the one in which you are interested is on display.
  3. Be sure to review terminology used by professionals when they describe books. For instance, you might look at the ways in which booksellers describe books at http://www.abebooks.com (many booksellers use this site to list their books). Also, consult the following sites:
    1. Book Conservation Catalog wiki, sponsored by the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works— http://www.conservation-wiki.com/index.php?title=Book_Conservation_Catalog
    2. Independent Online Booksellers Association terminology—http://www.ioba.org/terms.html
    3. British Library terminology for illuminated manuscripts— http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/glossary.asp

 

Course Evaluations

 

NKU has moved to a completely online course evaluation system. You will have two weeks at the end of the course to evaluate this course. The website for course evaluations is at http://eval.nku.edu/ . Note that the university will not allow you to view your grades for two weeks if you do not complete an evaluation during the evaluation period.

 

Please refer to the Graduate Student Handbook and to the Graduate Catalog for additional policies pertaining to grading.

 

Course Policies

 

Disability & Accessibility

 

Every effort has been made to design this course so that it is accessible for students with disabilities; however, further accommodation will be considered for students who explain early in the term. Students with disabilities who require accommodations (academic adjustments, auxiliary aids or services, etc.) for this course must register with the Disability Services Office (DSO). Please contact the DSO in the University Center , Room 320, immediately, or call 859-572-6373 for more information. Verification of your disability is required by the DSO for you to receive reasonable academic accommodation. Further details can be found at the DSO website.

 

Cheating & Plagiarism

 

All work submitted must be written exclusively for this course. The use of sources (ideas, quotations, argument structures, and paraphrases) must be properly documented. Any plagiarism, whether on a regular assignment or on an extra credit assignment, will result in failure of the entire course and a report sent to the Dean of Students. Please see me if you have any questions about your use of sources.

 

The Honor Code is a commitment to the highest degree of ethical integrity in academic conduct, a commitment that, individually and collectively, the students of Northern Kentucky University will not lie, cheat, or plagiarize to gain an academic advantage over fellow students or avoid academic requirements. The full text of the Honor Code may be found at the Dean of Students' website.

 

Please be aware that the stakes for such an occurrence are much higher for graduate students and especially for teachers. (Please refer to the Graduate Catalog and the materials on file with the College of Education for further information.)

 

Credit Hour Policy Statement

In accordance with federal policy, NKU defines a credit hour as the amount of work represented in the pursuit of student learning outcomes (and verified by evidence of student achievement) that reasonably approximates one hour (50 minutes) of classroom instruction and a minimum of two hours of out-of-class student work. For every course credit hour, a typical student should expect to spend at least three hours per week of concentrated attention on course-related work including, but not limited to, class meeting time, reading, reviewing, organizing notes, studying and completing assignments. At least an equivalent amount of time is expected for other academic activities such as online courses, laboratory work, internships, practica, studio work and other academic work leading to the award of credit hours.

NB: A course worth three credit hours requires a minimum of 135 hours of course time.

Work required for a typical student to complete course expectations are as follows:

 


Drafting formal writing (8-12 pages of prose)              =   40 hours
Reading, researching, informal writing                            = 97.5 hours
Rare Book Room Report                                             =   10 hours

 TOTAL                                                                                              147.5 hours

 Individual students' experience may differ depending upon preparation and learning styles.