The Practice and Politics of Reading, 650-1500

Donoghue, Daniel

ISBN 10: 1843846411 / ISBN 13: 9781843846413

Published by D.S.Brewer, 2022

About this Item

May have light to moderate shelf wear and/or a remainder mark. Complete. Clean pages.

Seller Inventory # 1338299

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Practice and Politics of Reading, 650-1500
• Publisher: D.S.Brewer
• Publication Date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1843846411
• ISBN 13: 9781843846413
• Binding: hardcover
• Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

A new look at how reading was practised and represented in England from the seventh century to the beginnings of the print era, finding many kinships between reading cultures across the medieval longue durée. Even as it transforms human cultures, routines, attention spans, and the wiring of our brains, the media revolution of the last few decades also urges a reconsideration of the long history of reading. The essays in this volume take a new look at how reading was practised and represented in England from the seventh century to the beginnings of the print era, using texts from Aldhelm to Malory and Wynkyn de Worde, arguing that whether unpicking intricate Latin, contemplating image-texts, or participating in semiotically-rich public rituals, reading cultivated and energized the subject's values, perceptions, and attitudes to the world. Part I, "Practices of Reading", asks how writers, scribes and artists engaged readerly attention through textual layout, poetic form, hermeneutic difficulty, or images, while Part II, "Politics of Reading", explores how different textual communities manipulated the anxieties and opportunities for education, moral improvement or entertainment associated with reading; particular topics addressed include Bible translation and exegesis, page layout, literary form and readerly practice, fiction, hermeneutics, and performance. Although it understands reading as culturally and technologically localized, the book finds many kinships between reading cultures across the medieval longue durée and the literatures and literacies that proliferate today. Contributors: Amy Appleford, Michelle De Groot, Daniel Donoghue, Andrew James Johnston, Andrew Kraebel, Katherine O'Brien O'Keeffe, Catherine Sanok, Samantha Katz Seal, James Simpson, Emily V. Thornbury, Kathleen Tonry, Kathryn Mogk Wagner, Nicholas Watson, Erica Weaver, Anna Wilson.

About the Authors

DANIEL DONOGHUE is Professor of English at Harvard University. His research explores Old English, Middle English, the History of English, Medievalism and Cognitive Literary Studies.

James Simpson teaches English at Harvard University. He publishes on a wide range of topics in on late medieval and early modern Western European Literature.

NICHOLAS WATSON teaches English at Harvard University. His research focuses on medieval English and North European literature, intellectual history, visionary writing and the role of the written vernacular.

Anna Wilson teaches English at Harvard University. Her research interests include Medieval English literature and literary culture, fanfiction and fan communities, and medieval gender, sexuality, and race.

CATHERINE SANOK is Professor of English and Women's and Gender Studies at the University of Michigan.