The Past, Present, and Future of the Book

Friday-Saturday, February 3-4, 2012
The historic campus of Cornell College, Mount Vernon, Iowa

The explosion of new digital book technologies has paradoxically energized more traditional studies of the book. This conference, to be hosted by the Cornell College Department of English and Creative Writing in Spring 2012, aims to nurture cross-curricular work and to foster on-going collaborations in scholarship and teaching by bringing together scholars, artists, and librarians from multiple disciplines who are interested in the past, present, and future of the book. The conference will include panel presentations on scholarly explorations of the book (presentations of collaborative faculty research and student-faculty collaborations will be encouraged); artistic demonstrations and workshops; two keynote speakers, focusing on the topics of book history and design and book arts; and an ongoing rare book exhibit. The schedule will also provide ample time for interdisciplinary break-out sessions that will help identify and develop pedagogical best practices and may lead to team-taught courses or publications in scholarly journals. Participants will leave with innovative plans for scholarly collaboration, new courses and assignments related to the book, and a book art object for inspiration.

Call for Papers

Submit a Proposal

Conference Conveners

Michelle Mouton, Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing, Cornell College
Kirilka (Katy) Stavreva, Professor of English and Creative Writing, Cornell College