MEDS 185 - The Bible Before Print

Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)

(Same as CLCS 185 and RELI 185) What is the Bible and how has its physical form changed from antiquity through Gutenberg’s first printing around 1455? Although one of the most influential texts in history, we seldom stop to think about its own history, and in particular the variety of textual, illustrative, and physical forms it has taken. Yet there were great differences in what constituted “the Bible” and how it was produced, disseminated, read, and discussed throughout antiquity and the medieval period. This course explores this history by “going to the source” and examining examples in both digital and print facsimile, largely relying on the Bible Collection in the Archives & Special Collections Library. By looking closely at the Bibles, we will examine all aspects of their makeup–scribal tendencies, binding and format, illustrations, marginalia, and other distinctive features. Through a variety of writing assignments we will make arguments about their meaning and what they might say about their producers and readers and the meaning of its physical form. Ms. Bucher.

Both first and second six-week course.