Reading books and prints as cultural objects

This volume contributes significantly to book, image and media studies from an interdisciplinary, comparative point of view.

Its broad perspective spans medieval manuscripts to e-readers.

Inventive methodology offers numerous insights into visual, manuscript and print culture: material objects relate to meaning and reading processes; images and texts are examined in varied associations; the symbolic, representational and cultural agency of books and prints is brought forward.

An introduction substantiates methods and approaches, ten chapters follow along media lines: from manuscripts to prints, printed books, and e-readers.

Eleven contributors from six countries challenge the idea of a unified field, revealing the role of books and prints in transformation and circulation between varying cultural trends, 'high' and 'low'.