History of Printing and Publishing Systems

A.Y. 2023/2024
9
Max ECTS
60
Overall hours
SSD
M-STO/08
Language
Italian
Learning objectives
The course aims to address the theme of the recognition of the creative personality of authors, what is generically called authorship and which has been established since the eighteenth century, associated with the broadening of the book market and the recognition (first in England, then in France, and from the nineteenth century in Italy) of copyright. The course is divided into three teaching units: the first is dedicated to the construction of authorship and the laws concerning authors between the 18th and 20th centuries; the second enters into the merits of how publishing was transformed between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in Italy, and the third addresses the types of mediums which transform text into a book, from institutions such as censorship to those internal to the publishing process like proofing and translating.
The teaching is fully consistent with the objectives of the Course of Studies, and in particular the publishing curriculum, which aims to ensure the acquisition of solid historical, literary and legal knowledge in the field of the production and circulation of the book, with the identification of all social actors involved in the publishing system.
Expected learning outcomes
Knowledge: They should be able to master the historic transformations of the Italian publishing system with a focus on the European context, and the different editorial functions in the transition from text to book; they will need to know different research methodologies, with attention to the complexity of the sources and the different types of archives (with all the possible figures and functions of publishing mediums).
Skills: The student will need to be able to analyze the historical contexts in which cultural projects and publishing activities develop; they should understand the types of sources used; they will have to be able to compare different publishing strategies through the analysis of catalogues and to demonstrate that they have a critical capacity regarding different documentary sources (memories, autobiographies, reading opinions, censored texts, etc.).
Single course

This course can be attended as a single course.

Course syllabus and organization

Single session

Lesson period
First semester
Course syllabus
Publishing and Reading in Europe (18th-20th centuries).

Course presentation
The course intends to present, in the first part, the historiographical debate that has characterised socio-cultural history and in particular the methodological course of the history of books, from the 1970s to the present day. The first module also includes the study of a manual on the history of Italian publishing.
The second part intends to explore the various reasons that explain the mobility of the texts, i.e. the fact that texts, after leaving the author's hands, become something very different in typography or in translation into another language, in many cases altering the original text and the very concept of authorship, not only because the author is often not involved in these transformative processes, but also because texts and paratextual materials are added that are often extraneous to the original text.
The third part aims to offer a reflection on an area of cultural history that has shown great vitality in recent decades, bringing together scholars from different disciplines: the history of reading. The aim is to follow the major transformations in the history of reading from the eighteenth century to the present day; the definition of new readers and ways of reading within the different publishing strategies, and finally a focus on the forms and media through which texts are transmitted and the factors (ideological, pedagogical, censorial, etc.) that may condition reading.


Part A (20 hours; 3 cfu): The pathway of socio-cultural history applied to the history of books and reading.
Part B (20 hours; 3 cfu): Mobility of texts and materiality of editions
Part C (20 hours; 3 cfu): Reading in Europe: the great technological, legal and cultural transformations.
Prerequisites for admission
Basic knowledge of the historical-cultural context of the Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries; good knowledge of the interpretative instruments (useful) for the reading of methodological and critical contributions.
Teaching methods
Lectures will be held in the presence.
The topics of the course will be tackled with the help of slides and teaching materials (reproduction of original documents, websites of printing press museums, video, power points).Students will be able to find all information about the beginning of lectures, as well as any changes in the syllabus and reference material (bibliography, etc.) on the Ariel site of the teaching.
Teaching Resources
PROGRAMME FOR ATTENDING STUDENTS

Part A (20 hours; 3 cfu): Part A (20 hours; 3 cfu): Part A (20 hours; 3 cfu): The pathway of socio-cultural history applied to the history of books and reading.


One book among the followings:
R. Chartier, La mano dell'autore, la mente dello stampatore. Cultura e scrittura nell'Europa moderna, Roma, Carocci, 2015.
R. Darnton, Editori e pirati. Il commercio librario nell'età dei lumi, Milano, Adelphi, 2023.
A.Petrucci, La scrittura. Ideologia e rappresentazione, Torino, Einaudi, 1986 ( o ed.
successive).

One book on the history of Italian publishing to choose from among the followings:
Storia dell'editoria nell'Italia contemporanea, ed. by G. Turi, Firenze, Giunti, 1997
I. Piazzoni, Il Novecento dei libri. Una storia dell'editoria in Italia, Roma, Carocci, 2021
G. Ragone, Un secolo di libri. Storia dell'editoria in Italia dall'Unità al post-moderno, Torino, Einaudi, 1999
N. Tranfaglia, A. Vittoria, Storia degli editori italiani, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2000.


Part B (20 hours; 3 cfu): Mobility of texts and materiality of editions

One book among the followings:
L. Braida, L'autore assente. L'anonimato nell'editoria italiana del Settecento, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2019.
M. P. Casalena, Tradurre nell'Italia del Risorgimento, Roma, Carocci, 2021.
Libri per tutti. Generi editoriali di larga circolazione tra Antico regime ed età contemporanea, ed. by L. Braida, M. Infelise, Torino, UTET, 2010.



Part C (20 hours; 3 cfu): Reading in Europe: the great technological, legal and cultural transformations.

One book among the followings:
Leggere in Europa: le grandi trasformazioni tecnologiche, giuridiche e culturali. Leggere in Europa. Testi, forme, pratiche (secoli XVIII-XXI), ed. by L. Braida, B. Ouvry-Vial, Roma, Carocci, 2023.
La storia della lettura nel mondo occidentale, ed. by R. Chartier, G. Cavallo, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 1995 (o edizioni seguenti).

NON ATTENDING STUDENTS: for 9 cfu teaching they have to bring the texts provided by the teaching parts A, B and C plus a book of their choice in the following list; those for 6 cfu they have to bring the texts provided by the teaching parts A and B plus a book in the following list:

L'altra metà dell'editoria. Le professioniste del libro e della lettura nel Novecento, ed. by R. Cesana, I. Piazzoni, Dueville (VI), Ronzani editore, 2022.
A. Ferrando, Adelphi. Le origini di una casa editrice (1938-1994), Roma, Carocci, 2023.
T. Plebani, Le scritture delle donne in Europa. Pratiche quotidiane e ambizioni letterarie (sec. XIII-XX), Roma, Carocci, 2019.
J-Y. Mollier, Storia dei librai e della libreria dall'Antichità ai nostri giorni. Con un saggio di E. Marazzi, Roma, Edizioni e/o, 2022.
Assessment methods and Criteria
The examination consists of an oral interview on the scheduled subjects.
Unita' didattica A
M-STO/08 - ARCHIVAL SCIENCE, BIBLIOGRAPHY AND LIBRARIANSHIP - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Unita' didattica B
M-STO/08 - ARCHIVAL SCIENCE, BIBLIOGRAPHY AND LIBRARIANSHIP - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Unita' didattica C
M-STO/08 - ARCHIVAL SCIENCE, BIBLIOGRAPHY AND LIBRARIANSHIP - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours