'EVIDENCE OF READING , READING THE EVIDENCE' A major international conference to be held at the Institute of English Studies, University of London. Organised by the Open University and the Institute of English Studies. 21-23 July 2008 Keynote speakers: Kate Flint, Jonathan Rose, David Vincent Roundtable Participants: Simon Eliot, Mary Hammond, Leah Price, James Raven, Helen Small, Naomi Tadmor

Studies centred on the history of reading have proliferated in the last twenty years. They have sprung from several different disciplines, encompassed different periods and geographical locations and chosen divergent methodologies, but their common quest has been to recover and understand the traces of a practice which is central to our understanding of human history, yet notoriously elusive.

One such approach is 'The Reading Experience Database 1450-1945' (RED), a project run by the Open University and the University of London . While RED is already proving its worth as a digital resource, its methodological parameters are necessarily limited and its vision therefore partial. What is needed in order for the study of the history of reading to progress beyond the boundaries of specific institutions, disciplines, methodologies, geographical locations and time periods is a forum in which as many diverse approaches as possible are brought into energetic debate.

This major 3-day conference, the first of its type, seeks to provide such a forum.

Organisers: Dr Shaf Towheed (S.S.Towheed@open.ac.uk); Dr Rosalind Crone (r.h.crone@open.ac.uk); Dr Katie Halsey (Katie.Halsey@sas.ac.uk).

Registration Fees:
£70 standard; £50 IES Members/Concessions.

STUDENT BURSARIES AVAILABLE!

Thanks to the generosity of THE BIBLIOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY, we are able to offer up to nine bursaries to enable students to attend the Evidence of Reading, Reading the Evidence conference. These bursaries are open to anyone registered on an undergraduate or postgraduate course in any discipline relevant to readership studies, and in any country; applicants must have submitted a paper to the conference organisers. The bursaries will cover the cost of registration for the three-day conference. An application form is available on the RED website.

CLICK HERE FOR red WEBSITE

Enquiries and Registration: Jon Millington, Events Officer, Institute of English Studies, Senate House, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU; tel +44 (0) 207 664 4859; Email jon.millington@sas.ac.uk