The view that early modernity saw the transformation of European societies into cultures of print has been widely influential in literary, historical, philosophical, and bibliographical studies of the period. The concept of print culture has provided scholars with a powerful tool for analyzing and theorizing new (or seemingly new) regimens of knowledge and networks of information transmission as well as developments in the worlds of literature, theatre, music, and the visual arts. However, more recently the concept has been reexamined and destabilized, as critics have pointed out the continuing existence of cultures of manuscript, queried the privileging of technological advances over other cultural forces, and identified the presence of many of the supposed innovations of print in pre-print societies.
This multi-disciplinary conference aims to refine and redefine our understanding of early modern print cultures (from the fifteenth to the end of the seventeenth century). We invite papers seeking to explore questions of production and reception that have always been at the core of the historiography of print, developing a more refined sense of the complex roles played by various agents and institutions. But we especially encourage submissions that probe the boundaries of our subject, both chronologically and conceptually: did print culture have a clear beginning? How is the idea of a culture of print complicated by the continued importance of manuscript circulation (as a private and commercial phenomenon)? How did print reshape or reconfigure audiences? And what was the place of orality in a world supposedly dominated by print textuality? What new forms of chirography and spoken, live performances did print enable, if any?
We invite proposals for conference papers of 20
minutes and encourage
group-proposals for panels of three papers. Alternative
formats such as
workshops and roundtables will also be considered. The deadline for submissions is 15
December 2009.
Conference Chairs
Grégoire Holtz (French, University of Toronto)
Holger Schott Syme (English, University of Toronto)
Please do not hesitate to contact the
conference chairs for further information.
Download this call for papers in pdf.
Download the registration form.
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For more information
about the CRRS, contact our Assistant to the Director, Dr.
Stephanie Treloar.
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