Reading Material: Technology, Text, Interpretation

Chetham's Library Postgraduate Conference - January 23rd, 2009

With Keynote Speaker Professor William H. Sherman

Call for Papers

We invite postgraduate students from any discipline to submit
abstracts on aspects of their book history related research.
Submissions that respond to the title 'Reading Material: Technology, Text,
Interpretation' in any way are welcomed; but some issues you may wish to
consider include:

.The effects of technology on the material nature of texts in any
historical period. Are concepts such as the 'book' losing their
currency in contemporary culture and scholarship?
.The methods & approaches needed to successfully read material. How do
established fields of enquiry act as a help or hindrance for
interpreting text? Does reading material present a challenge to what have
become established fields of study?
.The benefits of a reading of materiality. What sorts of novel
interventions in critical discourse can the interpretation of material
enable?

Participants might reflect on the place of texts in museums, archives and
libraries and their curation, collection and interpretation; the concept
of ownership, copyright & materiality; the role of multiple agencies
involved in the production of texts - publishers, authors, readers and
others - and how these may affect the form, function and reception of the
text; the emergence of digital fictions, hypertext, e-libraries, or the
implications of technology for archiving.

This one-day conference is intended to foster intellectual and social
interaction and we look forward to a diverse range of responses to these
themes.

Abstracts
Please send abstracts of 250-300 words to Christopher Plumb -
christopher.plumb@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk and Irene Huhulea -
raluca.huhulea@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk by Friday, 14 November.
Participation in this conference has been generously funded by The
University of Manchester School of Arts, Histories, and Cultures, and the
Bibliographical Society. Lunch will be provided at the Manchester
Cathedral Refectory. Please join us after the conference for a wine
reception at Chetham's.

http://www.chethams.org.uk/reading09.htm