The Culture of Books and Reading
During fall semester 2017, of my final year at UC, I took an honors course about the culture of books and reading. This class was a discussion-based class where we met twice a week for an hour and a half each time. Since this class covered books, we met many times in the Archives and Rare Books Library in Blegen Library. Ever since I was a little kid I have loved to read. I remember going to the Cincinnati Public Library with my mom and checking out as many books as I could and reading them all within a week. So when I saw this class, I knew I had to take it. Through this class we learned and read about how other cultures view books and the idea of reading.
We were able to look at how old and rare books are preserved by going to the basement of Langsam Library. We also saw tiny books that one has to look at through a magnifying glass and we saw large books that are heavy are difficult to transport. As a class we watched movies on how other cultures preserve books and their history. Many other cultures are not as worried about the physical state of the book as we are in the United States. These countries are more concerned with what the book actually contains. We also read books about the change from paper reading to e-reading and how that is impacting society.
By taking this class I was able to learn about how other cultures view something that I love. I never really thought about how reading and books are viewed in cultures outside of my own. In my travels outside of the USA, I have seen bookstores and people reading, but I never gave much thought as to why they read and how it could be important to them. I am really happy I took this class because I learned about reading and I was able to become more culturally aware in the process.
This is a miniature book I made.
We were able to look at how old and rare books are preserved by going to the basement of Langsam Library. We also saw tiny books that one has to look at through a magnifying glass and we saw large books that are heavy are difficult to transport. As a class we watched movies on how other cultures preserve books and their history. Many other cultures are not as worried about the physical state of the book as we are in the United States. These countries are more concerned with what the book actually contains. We also read books about the change from paper reading to e-reading and how that is impacting society.
By taking this class I was able to learn about how other cultures view something that I love. I never really thought about how reading and books are viewed in cultures outside of my own. In my travels outside of the USA, I have seen bookstores and people reading, but I never gave much thought as to why they read and how it could be important to them. I am really happy I took this class because I learned about reading and I was able to become more culturally aware in the process.
This is a miniature book I made.