This degree offers a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in two world cities, Paris and London, and learn how their respective development shaped our world.
Course
— Academic Direction:
University of London Institute in Paris
Technologies of the Book
Module information>
This module aims to provide students with a historical knowledge of some of the different technologies that have been used to produce and reproduce text and illustration from the invention of printing to the digital age.
Students will acquire a critical understanding of the main phases of development and change, exploring manuscript production in late medieval Europe (late 1400s), intaglio printing during the handpress period (1500-1830), relief printing during the handpress period (1450-1830), the machine age of printing (1800-1920), lithography (especially 1800-1920), the electrification of printing (1900-1970), and digital production (1970-present).
Students will critically evaluate the historical and cultural contexts that gave rise to different technologies and assess the impact of technological change on authors and readers and consumers. The module promotes both theoretical and practical learning through a combination of object-based teaching and research-led historical reconstructions of historical workshop practices. It seeks to provide students with a base of knowledge which can be applied in a critical and historically-informed way to related fields in the history of the book, including the history of authorship, publishing and reading.
