Week Seven - Books and Print
The readings by Briggs and Burke and Manguel offer an historical backdrop for the development of print and the book. Briggs and Burke specifically go in to great detail on the effects the print revolution had on oral communication, physical communication, written communication, and even how the empire was affected by this revolution. I found the article to be most informative in expressing just how far-reaching the revolution was from a cultural perspective. For example, Briggs and Burke?s assertion that ?the print revolution did not depend on technology alone [but] required favourable social and cultural conditions in order to spread? (14) is an important idea that is emphasized throughout each of this week?s readings regardless of their primary focus. Similarly, Garvey?s review of scrapbooking details the negative cultural outlook of such actions ? referring to the desecration of print ? despite the significance this sort of cataloging has for future generations. Hobart and Schiffman look at the changes in classification with the print development and what this meant to the culture?s approach to rhetoric and philosophy.
On a side note, the idea of ?self-help? books becoming prevalent in sixteenth-century Italy for the art of conversation was intriguing ? ?the art of conversation was influenced, if not transformed, by the spread in print of books on the subject? (Briggs and Burke, 39). The requested quantity may have changed but the market for these types of books and information is still on the ?top seller? list!
Manguel?s article The Shape of the Book examined the history of the literal shape of the book and how the different uses and reader requirements created the changes and developments that were witnessed. I found Manguel?s discussion of the symbolic change of the book to be most interesting; ?they [books] became, in the eyes of the new readers, less symbols of wealth then of intellectual aristocracy, and essential tools for study? (137). Not only did the style and ?shape? of the book change drastically based on the availability of materials and the increased literacy and writing skills of the mass audience (as discussed in Briggs and Burke?s print revolution) but the symbolic nature of books and information access also changed. This idea also ties to
Another side note?the information provided regarding the creation of the Penguin Classics was a favorite! These books were favorites of mine growing up and I appreciated the history of how they came to offer such important classics to the general public.
Finally, I found Garvey?s discussion of old and new media as a ?renewable resource? an interesting (and unique) link to scrapbooking ? what is now a ?craze? among the crafty, Martha Stewart types. The brief reference to the connection between media and how scrapbooking is similar to the multiple links provided on websites is something that would be worthwhile to pursue with further examination. The hard copy scrapbooking discussed in this article, in particular that of the farm family experience, was given a negative connotation as destructive of an author?s work but I don?t see the same perception working in the evaluation of websites with links to many possible directions. Garvey mentions that ?scrapbooks resemble websites, which mingle the link-compiling function of the bookmark with content borrowed without attribution from other websites? (212). Also, as Garvey highlights ?nineteenth century scrapbook makers were part of an elaborate circuit of recirculation? (208); isn?t this a very general view of scholarship in general? Many scholars pick and choose what they want to analyze or specific theories they want to address from other scholarly writings ? although this doesn?t take on the physical aspect of cutting and pasting and obviously, when done appropriately, works are cited and original authors are acknowledged for their contributions, but could you not see this as a form of ?scrapbooking? in general?
The discussion of authorship in Garvey?s article also tied in to the idea of information management by Hobart and Schiffman where the ?avalanche of books and ideas engendered not intellectual advancement but confusion, undercutting the traditional, classificatory means of information management? (89). The dawning of print led to so many changes and differences across society as a whole.