ENG 5801 Fall 2022 Eckert

This course focuses on a central question: How does technology influence not only access to knowledge and literature but also the creation and interpretation of that very knowledge? We will consider this question through a historical and theoretical overview of transnational text technologies from prehistory to the present. We will explore a variety of historical text technologies including quipus, papyrus scrolls, medieval manuscripts, and early print as well as more contemporary technologies like audiobooks, ebooks, and Optical Character Recognition (OCR). Students will work with a variety of materials, including gems from FSU’s own Special Collections, and the course will also feature guest appearances by specialist faculty. Throughout, students will learn specifics about different text technologies—like how parchment was made or how early printing worked—yet we will also strive to ask fundamental questions about the uses and social dynamics of text technologies. Ultimately, this course will help you develop a critical theoretical framework for analyzing, researching, and writing about different text technologies—both ancient as well as those that we use today.