Christophe de Savigny, Tableaux: Accomplis de tous les arts liberaux, 1587, Wing ZP 539 .G74104
The Center for Renaissance Studies has hosted an array of History of the Book programs—lecture series, workshops, symposia, and conferences—since the 1990s. These programs provide a forum for recent scholarship on the production and use of books as objects within medieval, Renaissance, and early modern culture, encompassing a wide variety of academic disciplines and theoretical approaches.
All sessions are free and open to the public, but space is limited and registration in advance is required.
Learn more about the Newberry’s History of the Book collections.
Upcoming Programs
Thursday, October 12, 2017
Center for Renaissance Studies Programs
Wing Foundation Lecture Series on the History of the Book
Free and open to the public; see below for a link to register
Peter Stallybrass begins with a very simple proposition, although he hopes that it will have some surprising implications. The proposition is that the vast majority of letters written between the 1530s and the 1920s consist mainly of blank paper—and that they are designed to do so.
Sunday, November 5, 2017 – Monday, November 6, 2017
Center for Renaissance Studies Programs
A History of the Book Symposium
Free and open to the public; see below for a link to register.
The Newberry Library and Spertus Institute each house a rich collection of medieval and early modern Jewish manuscripts and printed materials, including two jointly owned books. This one-day symposium celebrates and examines these collections in relation to the social and religious lives of Jews from roughly 1300 to 1700. How did the shift to print affect Jewish thought?