5 Research Writing in Book History

Your chance to add your chapter to the story of the making of print culture. 

Week Five Preview

Week five is writing week--your chance to pull together your research questions and findings into a case study essay. Your essay is like one episode in the long history of books as a technology. 

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Project 1: Case Study in the Making of Print Culture, 1450-1980

Project 1 template and guidelines (Google Docs file)

Be sure to review the sample case studies and other resources posted on the Week 3 page. 

Your Purpose
Your purpose in the case study is to describe a key event (or person, or technology) in the history of print culture, analyze it using one or more of the key concepts in the course (technology, commerce, culture, reading and literacy, writing and authorship), and explain the importance of the event for our understanding of print culture.

Your Audience
Your audience for the case study is your classmates and your instructor. You can assume that your audience is familiar with the outlines of print culture, and that we have all read the background materials in the course texts and videos. Your role is to explain the details of your topic and connect it to the shared knowledge base developed in the course so far.

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Case Studies Tell Stories

As you draft your essay, think about your case study as a kind of story. Consider how you would answer these questions:

• What happened?
• Why was it interesting and important?
• What changed as a result?
• How does this story connect to the themes of technology, culture, commerce, reading, and authorship? 
• Why is this significant for the broader history of the book and the making of print culture?

You may not directly answer every one of those questions, but they should prompt some ideas that will help you organize and draft your project. 

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