Call for Papers:
Authority in European Book Culture (1400-1600)
University of Liverpool, UK June 29th-July 1st 2006
Through its many and varied manifestations authority has frequently played
a role in the communication process in both manuscript and print culture.
Rulers and governments, the papacy and Church hierarchy, civic and
ecclesiastical societies and fraternities, guilds and corporations, local
governments, religious orders, have all influenced production methods and
forms of publication, essentially trying to determine where, when and how
information was to be circulated. Authority, whether religious,
intellectual, political or social, has sometimes enforced the circulation
of certain texts and text versions or conversely acted to prevent the
distribution of books, pamphlets and other print matter. It has also
stimulated the development of new publication forms and methods of
dissemination. At times, authority has been explicit by encoding itself in
structures or legislation. At others, it has operated in a more discreet
way, seemingly imperceptibly influencing cultural attitudes to the written
and printed word which have acted to the detriment of particular
communities. Authority has not always gone unchallenged: readers, writers
and printers have also rebelled against its constraints and restrictions,
publishing controversial works anonymously or counterfeiting authoritative
texts. The written or printed word itself has sometimes been perceived to
have a kind of authority, which might have had ramifications in social,
political or religious spheres.
This three-day conference brings together history of the book scholars with
interests in late medieval and early modern Europe to reflect upon the
questions that authority raises. The participation of postgraduate students
is particularly welcomed. Some bursaries will be available for postgraduate
students giving a paper.
Keynote speakers:
Adrian Armstrong (University of Manchester)
Jos Biemans (University of Amsterdam)
Brian Richardson (University of Leeds)
Short proposals (200-300 words) for 20-minute papers should be submitted to
the conference organisers Pollie Bromilow ([log in to unmask])
and Godfried Croenen (gcroenen @liverpool.ac.uk) by January 13th 2006.
It is anticipated that a selection of papers from this conference will be
published.
This call for papers can be viewed on-line at:
http://www.liv.ac.uk/sml/conferences/ European_Book_Culture/index.htm
For more information about the University of Liverpool Book History
Research Group see:
http://www.liv.ac.uk/sml/research/researchgroups/index.htm
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