Symposium: The Cultural Value of the Ebook

Symposium: The Cultural Value of the Ebook

Wednesday, 23 October 2019
10am – 5pm, Birmingham City University (BCU), Curzon Building, room C221

For the attention of colleagues with an interest in the book as object, its cultural meaning and publishing history, the digitization of media forms and the cultural industries.

Organised by the Birmingham Centre for Media and Cultural Research (BCMCR), this symposium addresses the book in the digital age. The event seeks to address issues such as how have the e-reader and other digital media impacted on the economics, cultural meaning, and status of the book? How has the digitization of the book affected the practices of authors, readers, publishers and cultural intermediaries? What comparisons might be drawn between the production and consumption of the book and other fields of culture after the digital turn?

The event is free to attend and refreshments will be available but places are strictly limited so please register your interest asap by contacting: christian.moerken@mail.bcu.ac.uk

Schedule

10:00 – Welcome/coffee

10:30 – Plenary – Introduction/aims of day

11:00 – 11:30 “How to choose a format. Consumers’ evaluation in choosing a format for reading books in Norway” (Linn-Birgit Kampen Kristensen, Norwegian Business School)

11:30 – 12:00 “The impact of haptics on reading, and the future landscapes of the printed product” (Sarah Cooper, Leeds Becket University)

12:00 – 12:30 “The legacy of e-readers beyond reading” (Simon Rowberry, University of Stirling)

12:30 – 13:15: Lunch

13:15 – 13:45 “Coming soon – one page at a time: book trailers as production/consumption platform (Ed Vollans, University of Leicester)

13:45 – 14:15 “Authorship, publishing & consumption in the digital age” (Esmé Spurling, Coventry University)

14:15 -14:45 ‘You’re the oppressor and this is exploitation’: queer writers, M/M fiction and immaterial labour (Leung Wing-Fai, King’s College London)

14:45 – 15:00: Coffee

15:00 – 15:30 The cultural value of the book in the age of digitization (Christian Moerken, Birmingham City University)

15:30 – 16:30: Workshop on publication of symposium contributions

CLOSE

Please join us for drinks after the symposium at the Woodman Pub.