डॉ. बी. आर. अम्बेडकर विश्‍वविद्यालय दिल्ली
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar University Delhi
Established by The Government of NCT of Delhi

1. 1. Objectives:
      • To understand how different sources of reading were available due to culture and material before the advent of printing
      • To understand the evolution of printing from the point of view of different cultures
      • To explore the issues of crisis in printing-culture due to advent of technology

Expected learning outcomes:

On the completion of the course, students will:

• • • Have a fundamental understanding of different sources were used for reading as a form of cultural and material item.
    • Participate in current discussions regarding the future of reading and books.
    • Utilize the skills learned in the creation of an audiobook excerpt from a text of their choosing.
    • Analyze the relationship between issues of medium and form, reader involvement.

Overall structure:

This course is organized around four units.

Reading list:

1. Bülow-Jacobsen, A. (2012). Writing Materials in the Ancient World. In Bagnall, R. (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Papyrology pp. 3- 29. AvailableOnline: https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199843695.01 3.0001
2. Darling, D. (2019). History of Writing Materials. Retrieved from https://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia_of_history/W/writing_materi als_history.html
3. Darnton, R. (1990). What is the History of Books? In Darnton, R. The Kiss of Lamourette: Reflections in Cultural History, pp. 107-135. New York, NY & London: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
4. Evolution of writing materials in Block-1 Library Materials: Preservation and Conservation. (2017). Retrieved from http://egyankosh.ac.in//handle/123456789/11141
5. Habermas, J. (1991). The public sphere. In Mukerji, C.; Schudson, M.(Ed.): Rethinking popular culture. Contemporary perspectives in cultural studies. Berkeley/Los Angeles: University of California Press. pp.398-404.
6. Kittler, F. (1996, July 30). The History of Communication Media. Retrieved from CTheory: http://www.ctheory.net/articles.aspx?id=45
7. Kovac, M., Phillips, A., van der Weel, A., Wischenbart, R. (2017). What is a Book? Publishing Research Quarterly, 35 (3): 313-326,

Reading list:

1. Development of Print Media in Block 3 Print Media (2017, April 19). Retrieved from http://egyankosh.ac.in//handle/123456789/8879
2. Eco, U. (2004). The name of the Rose. Vintage Classics.
3. Ghaffar, H. (n.d). Johannes Gutenberg’s Printing Press: A Revolution In The Making. Retrieved from https://clas.ucdenver.edu/nhdc/sites/default/files/attached- files/entry_172.pdf
4. Habermas, J. and Ben-Habib, S. (1981). Modernity versus Post Modernity. New German Critique, 22: pp. 3-14.
5. Kaviraj, S. (2002). Ideas of Freedom in Modern India. In Taylor, Robert H., (ed.), The Idea of Freedom in Asia and Africa. Stanford: Stanford University Press, pp. 97-142.
6. Kittler, F. (1996, July 30). The History of Communication Media. Retrieved from CTheory: http://www.ctheory.net/articles.aspx?id=45
7. Pamuk, O. (2002). My Name is Red. Vintage International
8. Print culture and the modern world in India and the Contemporary World (2015). Retrieved from https://ncert.nic.in/ncerts/l/jess307.pdf
9. Vishwanathan, G. (1989). Chapters of History. In Masks of conquest: Literary study and British rule in India. London: Faber & Faber, pp. 118- 141.

Module 3: Movement of flow of knowledge and restriction of knowledge

This unit explores the notion of when knowledge was available to the people in different forms, then the question of what should be written and what should be not, started emerging which in turn led to restriction of knowledge. This restriction further developed into censorship in terms what should be read by people. Also it would look into how censors played an important role in delimiting the knowledge of concepts, which are not legitimised by the Papal and the society at large. It also delves into the concept of cult formation, evolution of library, destruction of libraries: formation and destruction.

Reading List:

1. Arora. J. (1947). The History of the Press in India. Current History (1947) 13 (71): 27–29.
2. https://creativecommons.org/2022/10/25/a-better-internet-for-better- sharing-join-the-movement-for-a-better-internet/ https://copyleft.org/
3. Delsaerdt, P. (2012). Bibliophiles as Intermediaries: The Case of the Antwerp Book Collector Jean Baptiste Lauwers (1755-1829). Quaerendo, 42(3-4), 193–200. doi:10.1163/15700690-12341243
4. Gavrilov, A. (1997). Techniques of Reading in Classical Antiquity. Classical Quarterly, 47.1: 56–73. https://www.gnu.org/gwm/libredocxml/x53.html
5. Helmers, H., Lamal. N., and Cumby, J. (2021). Introduction: The Printing Press as an Agent of Power. In Print and Power in Early Modern Europe (1500–1800). Brill, pp.1-18.
6. Jeffrey. R. (2021). Media in Religion and Politics. Economic and Political Weekly (Engage), 56(3): 1-11.
7. Krueger, D. (2004). Writing and Holiness: The Practice of Authorship in the Early Christian East. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
8. Vishwanathan, G. (1989). The Failure of English. In Masks of conquest: Literary study and British rule in India. London: Faber & Faber, pp. 118-141.

Module 4: Contemporary reading cultures and practices

This module explores what changes are evolved in materials due to advent of technology such as audiobooks and the concept of e-reader. Further, this module would also focus on the debate surrounding e-reader whether it should be considered as person or gadget. Moreover, it delves into the changes revolving the process of reading such as rational reflection to reading images. Also, it focuses on the reading communities are formed based on gender, genre and class, reading habits, reading groups.

Reading List:

1. Hamburger, F. J. (2009). Representations of Reading – Reading Representations: The Female Reader from the Hedwig Codex to Châtillon’s Léopoldine au Livre d’Heures. Lesende Frau / Hrsg. Von Gabriela Signori, 177-239.
2. Kircz, J. (2010). E-gadget or e-reader? Logos, 21:1, 107-114
3. Kircz, J. (2012). E-readers are for reading: An informal consideration of Reading’s next step. Scholarly and Research Communication, 3(2): 020117, pp 7.
4. Pawley, C. (2002). Seeking "Significance": Actual Readers, Specific Reading Communities. Book History, 5: 143-160.
5. Shea, M. & Cepanro, M. (2017). Reading with Understanding: A Global Expectation. Journal of Inquiry & Action in Education, 9(1): 48-68
6. Thumala Olave, M.A. (2021). Exploring the sacrality of reading as a social practice. Am J Cult Sociol 9, 99–114. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41290-021-00132-3