The truth of the matter is, although always surrounded by books, not until entering this class have I given this much thought into understanding the concept of the book. Understanding and grasping a concept, that may or may not even be a discipline, of book history, might prove to be very elusive. Leslie Howsam, in her work, Old Books & New Histories, opened up new ways for me to think about books. Prior to that, I always thought of books as either ways to access information and knowledge, to open up worlds that I don't have to necessarily have to jump on a plane to see, to read critically for the purpose of education, or simply for leisure reading. However, as pointed out by Howsam, books are much more than that. They are both complex as well as complicated, they have held many forms through out history or periodization, they infuse other disciplines and cultures for the sake of identifying what it is to be a book.
In Old Books and New Histories, we are introduced to new ways of thinking about books. The reader encounters ways of identifying the book that include artefact, transaction, vehicle, and commodity. The term that I found more interesting is, tool. While brainstorming in class last week, we described a tool as something that changes or transforms life. It was also added that a tool might be something that encourages change and it may be neither a progression or a devolution. Being a practical person, viewing books as tools but not limiting them to that definition, helps me understand the role that they play in our culture.
Marshall McLuhan introduces the concept of "print culture" as a way of looking at books as a new invention and ties in cultural changes of a period of time. He asserts that although the mediums of which books have taken on different forms have been altered throughout history, the message is still the same. This is reassuring considering the introduction of the internet and its many advances when it comes to the book and the role that it plays. Peter Burke adds that it is more realistic to view print as a, "...catalyst, assisting in social changes rather than originating them". The book as a cultural transaction, communicates a great deal in the advances of mankind. As a consumer of the book and a lover of history and other cultures, it is the term "cultural transaction" that I would like to explore further as this class progresses.
In Old Books and New Histories, we are introduced to new ways of thinking about books. The reader encounters ways of identifying the book that include artefact, transaction, vehicle, and commodity. The term that I found more interesting is, tool. While brainstorming in class last week, we described a tool as something that changes or transforms life. It was also added that a tool might be something that encourages change and it may be neither a progression or a devolution. Being a practical person, viewing books as tools but not limiting them to that definition, helps me understand the role that they play in our culture.
Marshall McLuhan introduces the concept of "print culture" as a way of looking at books as a new invention and ties in cultural changes of a period of time. He asserts that although the mediums of which books have taken on different forms have been altered throughout history, the message is still the same. This is reassuring considering the introduction of the internet and its many advances when it comes to the book and the role that it plays. Peter Burke adds that it is more realistic to view print as a, "...catalyst, assisting in social changes rather than originating them". The book as a cultural transaction, communicates a great deal in the advances of mankind. As a consumer of the book and a lover of history and other cultures, it is the term "cultural transaction" that I would like to explore further as this class progresses.
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