The Secret Lives of Books: Parchment, Printing-Presses, and Paperbacks

How have various technologies, from the printing press to the coding, impacted how people have read, used, and understood books? How have people’s reading practices changed over time? How have developments in philosophical, literary, religious, social thought changed the material form and perception of the book? From richly bejewelled deluxe medieval manuscripts to mass-produced paperbacks, this course invites you to explore the history of how books were made, disseminated, and read from the early medieval period to the present day.

The course offers a rigorous, varied, and exciting introduction to the scholarly field of book history, allowing you to engage with some of the University of Oxford’s world-famous manuscript and archival collections, take part in hands-on bookcraft workshops, and learn from academics undertaking cutting-edge book-historical research. Each week of the programme will focus on a particular period of book history: we will start with a focus on the medieval period (500-1500), proceed to the early modern period (1500-1800), and conclude with the modern and contemporary period (1800-present day), while also encouraging you to reflect on conceptual, textual, and material connections between them. You will experience a range of learning environments to gain a holistic experience of book historical study and develop your own individualised scholarly interests. 

By the end of this course, you will:

• Be able to demonstrate an understanding of the different ways books were made, read, used, circulated, recycled and stored across different time periods.
• Be able to consider the impact of philosophical, literary, religious, social, and technological developments on the history of the book.
• Be able to examine how literacy rates and reading practices have impacted the book.
• Be able to evaluate past and modern conservation, custodial, and exhibition practices.
• Be able to demonstrate an understanding of the value of book-historical study to various scholarly fields.
• Be able to develop your own individualised scholarly interests in the history of the book.
   

This course would suit students of the Humanities, especially those with an interest in Literature and Language, History, Library and Information Science, Digital Humanities and Art History. There are no specific prerequisites for participation, but experience reading significant amounts of both literary and critical texts closely and with discernment is essential for the course.

Available as a Residential course on the following dates:

Session 2: 20th July - 7th August 2026