Cultural History of Reading: [2 volumes]: Sara E. Quay: Greenwood

Cultural History of Reading

[2 volumes]

Cultural History of Reading

[2 volumes]

Description

What is it about some books that makes them timeless? Cultural History of Reading looks at books from their earliest beginnings through the present day, in both the U.S. and regions all over the world. Not only fiction and literature, but religious works, dictionaries, scientific works, and home guides such as Mrs. Beeton's all have had an impact on not only their own time and place, but continue to capture the attention of readers today. Volume 1 examines the history of books in regions throughout the world, identifying both literature and nonfiction that was influenced by cultural events of its time. Volume 2 identifies books from the pre-colonial era to the present day that have had lasting significance in the United States. History students and book lovers alike will enjoy discovering the books that have impacted our world.

Volume 1
01 Frontmatter and Introduction
1.1 The Americas: Canada
1.3 The Americas: Latin American Diaspora
2.2 Britain and Europe: The Emergence of Christianity
2.5 Britain and Europe: The Enlightenment
2.6 Europe and Britain: Romanticism and the Nineteenth Century
2.7 Europe and Britain: Modern Europe and Britain
2.8 Europe and Britain: Postmodern Europe and Britain
2.9 Europe and Britain: The Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.)/ post-Soviet Russia
3.1 Asia and the Pacific Imperial China
3.2 Asia and the Pacific Modern China
3.4 Asia and the Pacific Korea
3.5 Asia and the Pacific Australia and New Zealand
3.6 Asia and the Pacific: The South Pacific and Melanesia
4.1 South Asia and the Indian Subcontinent: Classical Period
4.2 India and the Sub-Continent: European Arrival and the Colonial Period
4.3 South Asia and the Indian Subcontinent: Independent India
4.4 South Asia and the Indian Subcontinent: Contemporary India
5.2 Africa and the Middle East: Turkish Reading Culture during the Ottoman Empire
5.3 Africa and the Middle East: The Modern Middle East
5.4 Africa and the Middle East: Postcolonial Africa
6.0 Works Cited
Table of Contents Volume 2
1. Reading in the Era of Discovery and Exploration: prior to 1700
2. Reading during Settlement and Colonization: 1700-1776
3. Reading in the Revolution and the New Republic: 1776-1820
4. Reading and National Identity: 1820-1860
5. Reading Slavery and the Civil War: 1861-1865
6. Reading and the Growth of a Nation: 1865-1913
7. From the Great War through the Great Depression: 1914-1940
8. Reading and the Second World War: 1941-1960
9. Reading Rebellions and Countercultures: 1960s-1070s
10. Reading and the (Sub)cultures of the late twentieth-century: 1979-1999
11. Reading in the 21st Century: 2000 to the present

Product details

Published	30 Nov 2008
Format	Ebook (PDF)
Edition	1st
Extent	1088
ISBN	9780313071676
Imprint	Greenwood
Publisher	Bloomsbury Publishing

…The essays, written by scholars in the fields of English, history, languages, and cultural studies, share a common theme of relating how key cultural events and changes are linked to what people read in any given period of time. The chapters share a standard format: a chronology, a historical introduction, and an overview of reading trends and practices, followed by an examination of several specific trends and texts. Each chapter closes with a list of recommended readings. Although other works have examined the history of reading in particular cultures or at particular times, presently this is the most comprehensive work on the subject, and as such, is certain to be an indispensable addition to any academic collection. Essential. Upper-level undergraduates through faculty/researchers.

Choice
A Cultural History of Reading explores what people have read--and why--around the globe from 'before the common era' to the present. This two-volume set is divided geographically. Volume 1 covers the Americas (excepting the United States); Europe and Britain; Asia and the Pacific; South Asia and the Indian Subcontinent; and Africa and the Middle East. Chapters within these five sections are arranged topically or chronologically. Volume 2, also arranged chronologically, deals with the United States. The essays, written by scholars in the fields of English, history, languages, and cultural studies, share a common theme of relating how key cultural events and changes are linked to what people read in any given period of time. The chapters share a standard format: a chronology, a historical introduction, and an overview of reading trends and practices, followed by an examination of several specific trends and texts. Each chapter closes with a list of recommended readings…. this is the most comprehensive work on the subject, and as such, is certain to be an indispensable addition to any academic library collection. Summing Up: Essential. Upper-level undergraduates through faculty/researchers.

Choice
Though book-loving browsers will find countless fascinating facts here, the work is best suited to those who need in-depth information on literary works and authors, and those taking Advanced Placement history classes. …Well executed, thorough, and enjoyable.

School Library Journal
In a series of concise entries that span Europe, the Americas, Oceania, Asia and Africa, we are reminded that what we read creates and recreates us. In the first volume the contributors describe the growth of literature and the development of reading in the US, Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, Russia, the Mid-East, imperial and postimperial China, Britain, and Europe, with sections covering ancient Greece, early Christianity, the medieval period, the Renaissance, the early modern period, the Enlightenment, the era of empire and colonialism, modernism and postmodernism. In the second volume contributors concentrate on American literature, focusing on settlement, the development of national identity, slavery and civil war, the world wars and the period between them, the collide of cultures and the rise of a new, uncertain century. The result is an able description of literary trajectory and a cogent analysis of readership and its effects.

Reference & Research Book News
Greenwood's Cultural History of Reading offers a fascinating picture of what people in different nations and at different times have read, and how their reading in turned helped shape their cultures. . . . Those interested in publishing history, the history of the book, and in all genres of literature will benefit from the concise accounts of reading habits around the world and throughout time. This set is highly recommended for academic and large public libraries supporting a strong collection in literature and world history.

Oklahoma Librarian
The layout is extremely clear, with helpful illustrations and a timeline at the beginning of each section to indicate key historical and cultural events in that particular locality. There are useful notes for further reading of both primary and secondary sources. . . . The essays would provide useful overviews to students of literature and social history. . .

Reference Reviews