The following blog is written by Amanda White, Special Collections Intern and M.A. student with the English Department.
This past May, Special Collections teamed up with the English department to bring students, graduates and undergraduates alike, the first “History of the Book” course that the University of Arkansas has seen in many years. For this Intercession, and with the help of our own Joshua Youngblood, Dr. Joshua Byron Smith introduced students to new concepts and theories that focused on the materiality of books, print culture, and writing technologies.
Dr. Joshua Byron Smith lectures on medieval manuscripts.
For two weeks, students were invited to think critically about the various writing technologies we use today, and ones we used back when mankind first developed a system of writing. Beginning with rudimentary cuneiform tablets, dating back to ancient times, and ending with websites and Kindles, students traced the development of writing technology over the course of history, and its effects on literature, literary interpretation, cultural reading, and writing practices. This newly revived course was made possible by the variety of materials that were made available to them through Special Collections. As they acquired a new mastery of the course material in the classroom, students were able to journey into Special Collections and examine cuneiform tablets, rare books, archival materials, medieval manuscripts, artist books, and facsimiles.
Sample of cuneiform.
Page of papyrus from a Coptic codex.
With the supervision and assistance of the Special Collections staff, students were able to pair the theory that they learned in class with a unique hands-on experience, wherein they had the opportunity to physically handle the very historical objects they were learning about. As they studied how various types of paper were developed while in the classroom, they held and examined pieces of papyri, both individual leaves and those bound up in codices, that reside in the library. On the days that they learned about book binding and the illumination of manuscripts, they could handle incunabula and medieval manuscripts that date back to the 13th century.
Individual folio from a medieval manuscript.
In addition to being introduced to a completely unfamiliar field of study, each student conducted their own research project that called on them to apply their new knowledge to the rare books, manuscripts, and archival material that reside in the library. These final projects called on each student to examine an object of their choosing from Special Collections. By using the theories they had learned in class, each student produced an in-depth, critical bibliography that dealt with the object’s materiality, ownership history (provenance), marginalia, cultural significance, and independent value.
The History of the Book course, made possible by the unique collaboration between the Library Special Collections and the English Department, brought a whole new learning experience, with new research opportunities, to both undergraduate and graduate students. Not only were these students given full access to the various materials that can be found in Special Collections, they were able to expand and challenge their cultural understandings and preconceptions about an activity that we all do: read.
Sample marginalia from a book published in the 1800s.
While the hope is to bring the “History of the Book” course as a semester-long enterprise, the Honors College will be offering a course that focuses on the differences between medieval manuscript and print culture in Spring 2018, which will also be taught by Dr. Joshua Byron Smith. For more information, visit the Honors College website. This course will allow even more students to explore and think critically about all types of writing technologies and cultural reading practices, as well as take advantage of the unique and rare materials available for students, instructors, and researchers alike.