The History of Early Modern European Books. Method and Historiography - Detailseite

Book history can easily be mistaken for a narrow field which is of interest only to specialists and bibliophiles. Admittedly, methods such as descriptive bibliography do seem highly technical and dry. However, in recent decades, the history of books has developed into a veritable history of human communication. Rather than reducing books to their function as containers of texts (which is only one of their many functions in any case), books are investigated as material artifacts in their own right. As such, they provide valuable insights into their production, trade, ownership, and use. Given how extensively our profession relies on sources in book form, the history of books has much to offer to historians of a wide range of specializations.

While the field is by no means limited to the study of printed books, historians working on books produced in the first few centuries after Gutenberg’s famous invention of printing with moveable type in the mid-fifteenth century have been at the forefront of book history. For this reason, we will familiarize ourselves with classic and more recent scholarship in the history of early modern European books to acquire both an understanding of the historiography and the methods developed by book historians. During sessions held at Berlin’s libraries, we will have an opportunity to work with early modern prints to evaluate the interpretations offered by the scholarly literature and practice the approaches discussed in class.

The longer library sessions will likely take place on two to three Fridays in June and early July. I will announce further details, as they become available.

Course works consists of a written essay (approximately 10 pages for MA students, 5 pages for BA students) investigating a particular historiographical debate or applying book historical methods. If applicable, students are encouraged to use this assignment to explore aspects of their BA or MA thesis research.

A useful and fairly recent overview of the field is provided by James Raven, What is the History of the Book? (Oxford: Polity, 2018). For a glimpse of the intricacies of early modern book production, read Anthony Grafton, Inky Fingers: The Making of Books in Early Modern Europe (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press, 2020).

Ausgleichsberechtigte Studierende wenden sich zur bevorzugten Platzvergabe per E-Mail mit einem Nachweis der Ausgleichsberechtigung an die Studienkoordinationsstelle Geschichte. Ausschlussfrist für die Geltendmachung von Ausgleichsberechtigungen ist der letzte Tag der zentralen Frist, 16 Uhr. Textnachrichten in AGNES werden hingegen nicht gelesen!