The Institute of Medieval and Early Modern Studies at Durham University asks for paper submissions for its upcoming History of the Book Conference online, 8th-9th September 2021. They hope to attract contributions from scholars working on premodern book cultures from anywhere across the globe, and we hope to organize the conference to facilitate discussions that include comparative and/or connected perspectives.

The institute invites proposals for papers on the following topics:

The material organization of knowledge (dictionaries, encyclopaedias, philosophical, scientific, technical, medical or natural-historical texts and libraries, catalogues, taxonomies, storage, margins, rubrics, annotations, indices or tables of contents)

The organization of knowledge about other cultures (dictionaries, encyclopaedias, etc., and epistemic, cultural, linguistic or religious difference)

The disorganization of knowledge (the movement, circulation, sale, forgery, theft, or dispersal of knowledge texts or knowledge’s changing meaning as it is appropriated, edited, altered or moved between contexts)

Please send an abstract of max. 250 words, along with your name, affiliation and title to admin.imems@durham.ac.uk. Deadline for submissions is 30th June.