The emergence of print culture in the early modern era altered the relationship between readers and texts. We are interested in exploring the
history of the book and material culture, especially insofar as it interacts with concurrent developments in trade, commerce, geographical exploration,
and imperialist expansion.
Possible topics can include, but are not limited to:

• print production: technical advances, print culture, materiality of texts
• reading practices: ways of reading, reading public, oral/manuscript/print transmission, book ownership
• circulation: borrowing/lending books, book trade, globalization of knowledge, development of ideas about the world
• books and memory: archives, libraries, authorship, permanence and ephemerality
• the market for books: translations, economic relations, censorship, production of genres, intended audiences (printing and publishing industry/trade).

Submissions from history, language and literature, art history, music, philosophy, history of science, and other relevant fields are welcome.
Please send an abstract of 250 to 300 words, academic affiliation, and contact information to
premsgradconference@gmail.com by February 15, 2015.