ENG 245 - Creating Book Culture

Instructor
Rippeon

As the book has undergone a rapid century of changes, how have poets, fiction writers, theorists, and cultural critics imagined and come to terms with the complementary ideas of “the book” and “the library”? How do ideas of “the library” and “the book” vary in theory and practice? In the era of e-readers and nearly infinite digital storage capabilities, why own books at all? This course will examine the contested status of the printed object in the 21st century as a development of events in the 20th, and implements experiential and hands-on approaches (including printing with moveable type and making paper by hand) to study of the book as a literary-cultural object. Readings may include Benjamin, Borges, Drucker, Howe, Kittler, McLuhan, and several film screenings. (Writing-intensive.) (Theory or Theme).

Satisfies English major and minor requirements
Satisfies the Literary Studies, Creative Writing and Rhetoric requirements.
Counts as an innovation course for the major.
Counts as Historical approach course for the major