Using Book History in Graduate Book Publishing Programs

Citation

Squires C & Noorda R (2023) Using Book History in Graduate Book Publishing Programs. In: Pangallo M & Todd EB (eds.) Teaching the History of the Book. Amherst and Boston: University of Massachusetts Press, pp. 300-307. https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Teaching-the-History-of-the-Book-by-Matteo-A-Pangallo-editor-Emily-B-Todd-editor/9781625347312

Abstract
First paragraph: Following the consolidation, conglomeration, and professionalization of book publishing after the 1960s, academic programs in publishing began to emerge, particularly at the graduate level. While rooted in professional skills acquisition, many publishing programs across the world have become more academically rigorous and critically engaged. Nonetheless, such programs face a particular curricular challenge in balancing skills acquisition with theoretical rigor. We argue that one of the ways to achieve this balance is in positioning the contemporary book publishing industry within the longer study of the history of books. In this essay, we address three key questions regarding the intersection of publishing graduate programs and book history: 1.What is the purpose and advantage of integrating book history into professionally oriented publishing studies graduate programs? 2.How can publishing studies programs integrate book history into the curriculum? 3.What benefits do such integrations bring both to industry, and to the broader study of book history?