Why does the book endure? The History of European Printed Books and their Contemporary Scholarship

Presented by Tracy Bergstrom

This seminar explores the history of the printed book in Europe utilizing the vast collections held by the Hesburgh Libraries’ Department of Rare Books & Special Collections. The course will examine the history of printing through multiple lenses including the history of technology, art history, intellectual history, and the reception of texts and their dissemination. The first day’s class will take place within Rare Books & Special Collections to provide a hands-on introduction to these issues, with participants studying examples of early printed and illustrated books to investigate the topics of unstable texts, canon formation of individual authors, and propaganda. Subsequent classroom discussion will survey the topic of digital humanities as it pertains to early printing and the future of the scholarship in this field. Participants will learn from advance readings as well as multimedia resources.

About Tracy Bergstrom

Tracy Bergstrom is the director of the Specialized Collection Services Program within the Hesburgh Libraries of Notre Dame. As such, she oversees Rare Books & Special Collections, University Archives, Preservation, and Digital Production. She is also the curator of the Zahm Dante and early Italian imprints collection at Notre Dame and is especially interested in the print history of Dante’s Divine Comedy.