ENG 4834 - Spring 2026 - Eckert

This course will explore how books have been bound, branded, and marketed to consumers from the early eighteenth century to today. From thinking about publishers’ early strategies of using attractive bookbindings to entice potential purchasers to more recent examples of how publishers are turning to social media influencers to reach new audiences, this course will encourage students to think about how literature exists within a complex consumer culture. Along with historical case studies—such as the eighteen-century publisher John Newbery who invented the practice of selling children’s books alongside literary-themed toys—we will consider more recent examples from the literary marketplace—such as cover design trends in “chick lit,” romance novels, and texts that are marketed anew after being adapted into movies or TV shows. The class will feature visits to Special Collections to see historical examples as well as guest visits from those in the publishing industry today. The assignments throughout the course offer students options for creativity as well as more traditional research. Ultimately, this seminar is designed to help you understand how current trends in the publishing industry are linked to much earlier historical developments.

This seminar-style course will rely on active student discussion. For the final assignment, students will have the option to produce either a robust research essay or their own comprehensive, research-based marketing plan for a literary work.