Learning outcomes

- At the end of this course, the student will have a global overview of the evolution of the book object and its reappropriation over time.

- The student will be able to understand the constitution and role of digital resources and explain the changes they imply in our practices in the humanities and social sciences.

- The student will also be able to assess the opportunities but also the risks and limitations of digital resources and open access.

Goals

The aim of this course will be to conduct a theoretical and practical reflection on our current digital culture by focusing on a particular object (the book) and by analysing the different transformations and forms of reappropriation of this medium in the digital age.

Content

This course proposes to rediscover the book by analysing it within the current digital culture, by placing current discourses in a historical context and by proposing to the students to reflect on their reading practices and on the evolution of these practices. The aim is to examine the extent to which digital technologies have transformed the book in recent decades, to identify the new possibilities created by these technologies and to analyse the ways in which books interact with other media.

Table of contents

1. Conceptual framework. The aim is to identify the general characteristics of 'digital culture' and to briefly show what impact it is having on the various artistic fields and on the media. We will also present the main features of the book as a medium and material object in its social context, as well as reading as a cognitive process.
 
2. Overview of the history of books and reading. This section will look at the following issues: the transition from orality to writing, the transition from the volumen to the codex, Gutenberg and the 'invention' of printing, the transformation of the book into a mass-market object from 1800 onwards, and a presentation of traditional ways of reading. 
 
3. Analysis of the book as it appears today - i.e. as part of a whole range of media and practices. This part will be devoted on the one hand to the transformations linked to digitisation and the challenges of so-called 'dematerialisation'. It will also look at how books interact with other media, such as video games.

Exercices

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Assessment method

Written examination at the end of the term. General questions on the course material (knowledge questions, reflection and analysis questions).

Sources, references and any support material

Students will be provided with PowerPoint presentations as well as a course reader and a glossary. Additional materials will be posted on Webcampus throughout the semester.

Students will also be provided with references and access to online resources.

Selection of references :

Barbier, Frédéric: Histoire du livre en Occident, Paris 2012.

History of Reading in the Western World, edited by Gugliemo Cavallo and Roger Chartier, Paris 2000.

Read/Write Book 2. An Introduction to Digital Humanities. Edited by Pierre Mounier, OpenEdition Press 2012.

van Hooland, Seth; Gillet, Florence; Hengchen, Simon; De Wilde, Max: Introduction to the digital humanities: methods and practices, Louvain-la-Neuve 2016.

Lire dans un monde numérique, edited by Claire Bélisle, Paris 2011.

Le livre face au numérique : la disruption a-t-elle eu lieu ? Sous la dir. de Frédérique Giraud et Céline Guillot, Paris 2024.

Language of instruction

Français