MCLC: Reading Communities--cfp

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: Shih-Wen Chen <shih-wen.chen at anu.edu.au>
Subject: Reading Communities--cfp
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Call for Papers
 
Reading Communities and the Circulation of Print:  Australia, China, and
Britain in the 19th century
 
23-24 April 2014
The Australian National University

 
This two-day conference investigates the production, circulation and
consumption of printed material in Australia, China, and Britain in the
long 19th century, when technological improvements in printing, engraving,
papermaking, and transport made the production and distribution of texts
easier and increased opportunities for education led to rising literacy
rates. Over the century, the proportion of travellers to and migrants from
these three areas also increased. How did the movement of people across
space and culture influence publishing and reading practices? Is the
nation a relevant framework for examining histories of print culture and
its circulation in this period? In what ways have histories of reading and
print culture in Australia, China and Britain intersected? How has the
relationship between reading and its contexts been theorized and
researched? We aim to bring scholars interested in the history of reading
and print culture across these different national contexts into
conversation with each other, and to provide a forum for discussing the
state of the discipline, in Australia and globally.

 
We invite proposals exploring topics related to:

-transnational print culture and reading histories in the long19th century
-studies of local readerships and their connections to international print
cultures
-the reception of books and newspapers across multiple geographies
-international networks of publishing and distribution
-readers of translations or bilingual texts
-the relationship between reading and sociability
-diverse reading practices and habits of national and international
reading communities
-other investigations of the relationships between printers, publishers,
editors, authors, and readers.

We especially welcome papers that examine texts and readerships that
crossed national borders and challenge nation-based paradigms of print and
reading culture. Confirmed speakers include: James Raven (Essex), T.H.
Barrett (SOAS), Lydia Wevers (Victoria University of Wellington), Martyn
Lyons (UNSW) and Paul Eggert (UNSW Canberra).

 
Please send proposals of no more than 350 words to Sue Chen
(shih-wen.chen at anu.edu.au) and Julieanne Lamond
(julieanne.lamond at anu.edu.au) by 15 December 2013. For more information,
visit the conference website:

http://ciw.anu.edu.au/events/2014/readingconference/
 
 
_________________________________

Dr Shih-Wen Sue Chen 陳詩雯
Post-doctoral Fellow
Australian Centre on China in the World
ANU College of Asia and the Pacific
H.C. Coombs Building #9
The Australian National University
Canberra ACT 0200 Australia

T: +61 2 6125 7025 
F: +61 2 6125 5525 
E: shih-wen.chen at anu.edu.au
http://www.ashgate.com/isbn/9781409447351