CFP: The Crisis of the Book: Worlds of Opportunity, Worlds of Change (Reed College, Due 6/1)

The Crisis of the Book: 

Worlds of Opportunity, Worlds of Change

October 18–20, 2012

Portland, Oregon

Hosted by the Reed College 

Master of Arts in Liberal Studies Program

call for papers/presentations

2012 annual conference

In the current electronic age, a few keystrokes will deliver vast amounts of information instantly and allow us to communicate with a wide audience indiscriminately. In this changing landscape, what is the role of the printed book as transmitter of knowledge and as material object? Revolutions in technology throughout history have changed the way we receive and process information, even the way we think about ideas. From scroll to codex, printing press to computer screen, just as familiar modes of communication disappear, new possibilities and opportunities take their place. This interdisciplinary conference will place the transformation in print culture in a historical framework, and will reflect upon the changing nature of text delivery and the experience of reading. 

How is knowledge produced? What role does the text play as cultural, material, and sacred object? How do we “read” historically, culturally, popularly, and what is the future of the practice of reading? What is the place of the modern library in the electronic age? How does the new field of media studies reflect evolving social contexts?  How do we “see” graphic novels or navigate through hypertext fiction? What questions concerning copyright and intellectual property does the digital age raise? 

The 2012 AGLSP Annual Conference invites papers addressing how knowledge and ideas are produced and disseminated. In this context, we welcome a broader definition of “text” to include electronic, film, pictorial, etc. Special consideration will be given to submissions which address the integration of this theme into Liberal Studies curricula and classes.

Paper presentation should be 20 minutes long with an additional 5 to 10 minutes for questions. Please submit a one to two page abstract electronically to Barbara Amen (bamen@reed.edu), MALS director at Reed College, by June 1. (Be sure to write “AGLSP Submission” in the subject line.) Also, please include multi-media requirements, although we encourage presenters to give judicious consideration to the effective use of PowerPoint. Additional conference information at aglsp.org