Hybrid International Symposium "Behind the Book: Designing, Producing, and Using Books in the Early Modern Period"
Event Date
Event Venue
2023/01/24
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Date and Time | Saturday, March 4, 2023, 14:00–17:00 |
Venue | East Research Building, G-Lab (6th and 7th floors), Mita Campus, Keio University. Also available online via Zoom (a passcode will be distributed to registered participants). |
Eligibility | Open to everyone, free of charge. Advance registration is required. Registration deadlines: Sunday, February 26 for in-person participation, and Thursday, March 2 for online participation. |
Organizers | Mari Agata (Faculty of Letters, Keio University), Satoko Tokunaga (Faculty of Letters, Keio University), and Mayumi Ikeda (Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University) |
Speakers | Karen Limper-Herz (British Library, London), Koichi Yukishima (Waseda University), Hiromitsu Suzuki (Nara Women's University), and Mari Agata (Keio University) |
Registration | |
Details (URL) |
Abstract:
The form, use, reception, and social role of books have continuously changed and will continue to do so. The introduction of new technologies can often be a turning point, but its consequences are not straightforward. Behind these changes lies an expanding horizon of shared expectations among authors, printers/publishers, proofreaders, illuminators, bookbinders, readers, and collectors. Various innovative elements in texts and paratexts—such as typefaces, page layouts, methods of text division, and practical tools for readers—serve as clues that reveal both conscious and unconscious expectations. This symposium will therefore examine books, their appearance, and the changing expectations over time of "what a book should look like" in the early modern West and East.