Overview

Bangor University’s Archives and Special Collections offer a wealth of potentially untapped resources, especially in terms of its collections of rare printed books. ‘Adopt a Book: Writing the Lives of Bangor’s Rare Books’ aims to explore the potentials embodied by these collections.

Students on the module will be assigned one of Bangor’s rare book objects, and over the course of the semester, they will write a ‘biography’ or ‘life story’ for that object. Students will photograph, and produce physical descriptions of, their adopted book objects, under the guidance of the module co-ordinator, narrativising the story of its publication, dissemination, use, and acquisition.

As students advance through the module, slowly building their book ‘biography’, they will be introduced to the necessary skills of physical description, and key theoretical concerns related to the materialities of the printed codex, book use, and book dissemination and collection. At the end of the module, students will present their ‘biographies’ at a semester-end exhibition, and their findings will be shared via the website for the Stephen Colclough Centre for the History and Culture of the Book.

Bangor University’s Archives and Special Collections offer a wealth of potentially untapped resources, especially in terms of its collections of rare printed books. ‘Adopt a Book: Writing the Lives of Bangor’s Rare Printed Objects’ aims to explore the potentials embodied by these collections.

Students on this module will be assigned one of Bangor’s rare printed books, and over the course of the semester, they will write a ‘biography’ or ‘life story’ for that object. Students will photograph, and produce physical descriptions of, their adopted book objects, under the guidance of the module co-ordinator (Durrant), narrativizing the story of its publication, dissemination, use, and acquisition.

As students advance through the module, slowly building their book ‘biography’, they will be introduced to the necessary skills of physical description, and key theoretical concerns related to the materialities of the printed codex, book use, and book dissemination and collection. At the end of the module, students will present their ‘biographies’ at a semester-end colloquium, and their findings will be posted to the website for the Stephen Colclough Centre for the History and Culture of the Book.

Assessment Strategy

-threshold -A Pass (C/50%) A candidate’s work will show many of the following qualities: • A satisfactory level of knowledge, analysis and expression. • Some familiarity with, and understanding of, relevant theoretical issues. • Generally sound organisation of argument, with some critical ability. • Accurate expression. • Competent use of quotation and references.

-good -B/60%+: A candidate’s work reaching Merit will show many of the following qualities: • An advanced level of factual knowledge. • Significant [substantial] knowledge of relevant theories and types of analysis. • Some evidence of original thought. • The ability to organise and argue effectively, make balanced judgements, and demonstrate critical thought. • Fluent and accurate expression. • Competent use of quotation and references.

-excellent -A/70%+ Typically, the work of a candidate reaching Distinction will show many of the following qualities: • Thorough knowledge and understanding of relevant theories and types of analysis. • Thorough knowledge of a range of sources and the capacity to engage these critically. • Introduction and discussion of original ideas. • Relevant, well-organised and sophisticated argument. • High ratio of analysis to exposition. • Maturity, clarity and cogency of expression. • Excellent handling of quotation and references

Learning Outcomes

• Critically engage with different scholarly understandings of book use, book collecting, and book dissemination.

• Identify and use appropriate tools and methods to identify and interpret manuscript marginalia, material indicators of provenance

• Interpret how books create meaning through their physical expression in historically-specific contexts.

• Produce a comprehensive critical vocabulary to physically describe archival documents between 15th and 19th centuries.