A History of Reading in the West (Studies in Print Culture and the History of the Book) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1558492135 ISBN 13: 9781558492134

Publisher: Univ of Massachusetts Pr, 1999

Synopsis

Literature has not always been written in the same ways, nor has it been received or read in the same ways over the course of Western civilization. Cavallo (Greek palaeography, U. of Rome La Sapienza), Chartier (+cole des Hautes +tudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris) and a number of other international contributors, address themes that highlight the transformation of reading methods and materials over the ages, such as the way texts in the Middle Ages were often written with the voice in mind, as they would have been read aloud, or even sung. Articles explore the innovations in the physical evolution of the book, as well as the growth and development of a broad- based reading public. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

About this title

From the Publisher

A "Lingua Franca" Breakthrough Book

A pioneering survey of the changing practices of reading in Western culture, from antiquity to the present.

From the Back Cover

Books and other texts have not always been read in the way that we read them today. The modern practice of reading - privately, silently, with the eyes alone - is only one way of reading which, for many centuries, existed alongside other forms. In the ancient world, in the Middle Ages and as late as the seventeenth century, many texts were written for the voice, and they used forms that were oriented towards the demands of oral performance.

This is one of the central themes explored in this wide-ranging and authoritative account of the changing practices of reading from the ancient world to the present day. An international team of leading historians analyses the transformations of reading methods and material over the ages, and shows that revolutions in reading generally precede revolutions of the book. They examine not only the technical innovations which change physical aspects of books and other texts, but also the changing forms of reading and the growth and transformation of the reading public. Contributors include Robert Bonfil, Guglielmo Cavallo, Roger Chartier, Jean-François Gilmont, Anthony Grafton, Jacqueline Hamesse, Dominique Julia, Martyn Lyons, M. B. Parkes, Armando Petrucci, Paul Saenger, Jesper Svenbro and Reinhard Wittmann.

This path-breaking study will become the standard work on the history of reading in the West. It will be indispensable to students of cultural history, and to all those who want a fresh perspective on the history of books and their uses.

Edition details

• Publisher: Univ of Massachusetts Pr
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 1558492135
• ISBN 13: 9781558492134
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 478
• Editor: Cavallo Guglielmo, Chartier Roger, Cochrane Lydia G.