How Literature Is Made: Authors and Their Publishers 4219-RS290
The course examines the process of literary work creation and its function within the publishing world. It will discuss the roles of various entities (author, agent, editor, publisher, critic) and their influence on the form and reception of the final publication. Students will learn to critically analyze peritexts (titles, covers, biographical notes) and understand how publishing decisions affect the status and meaning of literature.
Working Methods:
- group meetings (a detailed schedule is presented to students before the first meeting by the instructors of each group).
- individual consultations with the lecturer.
- presentation of research results
Works:
- In-class presentation
- Written work at the end of the semester
Type of course
elective courses
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
Knowledge
Student has knowledge of the stages of the publishing process and its key actors.
Student is able to define main concepts of bibliology and the sociology of literature (e.g., peritext, literary field) and can apply them in discourse.
Student has in-depth knowledge of the mechanisms for bringing a book to market and the role the publisher plays in this process.
Skills
Student can independently analyze paratexts and peritexts (e.g., covers, introductions) in the context of publishing decisions.
Student identifies different models of the author-publisher relationship in the history of literature.
Student develops skills to gather and select information concerning publishing history and theory.
Social Competences
Student participates in a discussion regarding the challenges of the contemporary publishing market.
Student is ready for the critical reception and analysis of the material form of the book.
Assessment criteria
30% Attendance and participation
20% Class presentation
50% Final paper
Bibliography
Elizabeth Eisenstein, The Printing Press as an Agent of Change
Leslie Howsam, Old Books and New Histories: An Orientation to Studies in Book and Print Culture
Mark McGurl, Everything and Less: The Novel in the Age of Amazon
David Paul Nord et al., The Enduring Book: Print Culture in Postwar America
Angus Phillips, The Oxford Handbook of Publishing
James Raven, What Is the History of the Book?
Dan Sinykin, Big Fiction: How Conglomeration Changed the Publishing Industry and American Literature
John B. Thompson, Merchants of Culture: The Publishing Business in the Twenty-First Century
John B. Thompson, Book Wars: The Digital Revolution in Publishing
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: