Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing (SHARP)
SHARP 2007
Open the Book, Open the Mind
July 11-14, 2007, with pre-conference activities July 10
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Plenary sessions open to the public: did you hear about these sessions on Minnesota Public Radio? Click here for more details.
View a draft copy of the conference program.
Online registration is now available. Visit the Registration Information page on the left-hand side of this page for instructions.
The fifteenth annual conference of the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing (SHARP) will be held in Minneapolis at the University of Minnesota on July 11–14, 2007, with pre-conference activities on July 10. The conference is organized in cooperation with the Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost, University of Minnesota, and the College of Liberal Arts ; as well as the Department of English, the Institute for Advanced Study ; The McKnight Arts and Humanities Endowment; University of Minnesota Libraries; University of Minnesota Press; Minneapolis Athenaeum, Minneapolis Public Library; Minnesota Historical Society; and Minnesota Center for Book Arts—a part of Open Book. Other supporters for the conference include the following organizations at the University of Minnesota: Department of American Studies; Department of American Indian Studies, Department of Art, Department of Art History, Center for Early Modern History; Department of French and Italian; Department of German, Scandinavian, and Dutch; Department of History; School of Journalism and Mass Communication; Center for Medieval Studies; Institute for New Media Studies; Department of Spanish and Portuguese; and Program in History of Science, Technology, and Medicine.
The conference theme, “Open the Book, Open the Mind,” will highlight how books develop and extend minds and cultures, and also how they are opened to new media and new purposes. However, individual papers or sessions may address any aspect of book history and print culture.
Pre-conference Tuesday, July 10: Book Arts and Artists’ Books
A pre-conference of practical workshops and a plenary session devoted to book arts and artists’ books will be held at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts, near the University of Minnesota campus, on Tuesday, July 10, 2007.
Call for Abstracts
Abstracts were accepted online beginning September 1, 2006. The deadline for all abstracts was November 30, 2006.
About Minneapolis and St. Paul
Recently Minneapolis has welcomed several outstanding new buildings for the arts and learning, including the Guthrie Theater (designed by Jean Nouvel), additions to both the Walker Art Center (by Herzog & de Meuron) and Minneapolis Institute of Arts (Michael Graves), the Minneapolis Central Library (Cesar Pelli), as well as the Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum (Frank Gehry). The remarkable Elmer L. Andersen Library houses one- and- a- half million books and related archival materials in giant vaults carved into the banks of the Mississippi River literally below the campus of the University of Minnesota. The Andersen Library is part of the University of Minnesota Libraries, a system that owns more than 6.2 million books. The University of Minnesota is one of the largest university campuses in the United States. Minneapolis, where the conference will take place, is adjacent to St. Paul, the state capital, where the library of the Minnesota Historical Society houses extensive print and manuscript records. Both cities boast fine theaters, concert halls, and restaurants, as well as outstanding parks, many of which surround lakes. More than 10,000 other lakes lie within a several hours’ drive, including vast Lake Superior and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, which stretches along the Canadian border. Chicago, with its many cultural attractions, is only 90 minutes away by plane. July is the warmest month of the year in the Twin Cities; daily high temperatures average 84 F (28 C).
Planning Committee
Douglas Armato, Director, University of Minnesota Press
Thomas Augst, Professor of English, University of Minnesota
Betty Bright, Independent Scholar and Curator
Patrick Coleman, Curator and Acquisitions Librarian, Minnesota Historical Society
Edward Griffin, Professor of English, University of Minnesota
Michael Hancher, Professor of English, University of Minnesota - Chair
Wendy Pradt Lougee, University Librarian, McKnight Presidential Professor
Marcia Pankake, Professor, Academic Programs, University of Minnesota Libraries
Donald Ross, Professor of English, University of Minnesota
Ann Waltner, Professor of History and Director, Institute for Advanced Study, University of Minnesota
Program Committee
Juliette Cherbuliez, Associate Professor of French and Italian, University of Minnesota
Ian Gadd, Lecturer, School of English and Creative Studies, Bath Spa University
Michael Hancher, Professor of English, University of Minnesota - Chair
Robert L. Patten, Professor of English, Rice University, and President, SHARP
For more information, please contact
Heather Dorr or Kay Syme
612-624-4938
conferences4@cce.umn.edu
