History and Curation of Book Collections

Editor’s Note

Welcome to our digital publication! The Book Shelf: An Exploration of Book History is the culmination of a semester of work by the students in the course, The History and Curation of Book Collections (MST 4330/Fall 2022). For fifteen weeks, we explored the history of books, which is broadly defined as the history of the creation, dissemination, and reception of script and print. More specifically, the history of the book touches on the histories of reading, printing, communication, authorship, editing, book arts, and technology. Book history includes social, economic, political, and cultural history. Historians of the book use digital humanities tools as well as traditional academic research. Our topical explorations traveled back and forth along the long timeline of book history. Our explorations also considered the book as an object much like the objects we encounter in museum collections. Curators and librarians of book collections collect, preserve, and interpret collections for their visitors/users. Yet, books are also meant to be touched, read, and consumed. Consider how we engage with books in different settings. In the public library, a popular book that falls apart after many, many readings can simply be replaced for a nominal cost. Book arts collections, such as the one held by Moody Library at Baylor University, are a different matter. The book arts collection includes limited edition and one-of-a-kind books created by artists who use the book as their form. These artists’ books are works of art; yet, because of their form, these works of art must be touched and manipulated. Rare books also require similar, personal engagement. How do we balance the opposing activities of preservation and use? As we discovered this semester, there are no easy answers to that question. The idea for this digital publication came from a similar project developed by Robynne Rogers Healey, Professor of History and Co-

director of the Gender Studies Institute at Trinity Western University, for her gender history course. I had the honor of participating in the students’ presentations of their work. I came away inspired by their creativity and their passion for their digital publication.

For our digital publication, students were each tasked with researching and writing at least one article. In some cases, students developed more than one article. The diversity of students’ topics reflects the breadth of their interests as well as the interdisciplinary nature of book history. Some topics, such as those presented by Lauren Lykins and Chloe Dionne, were drawn from Baylor’s collections. Others had different origins. The students worked together to discuss how best to organize and present their articles adapting the digital publication to the topics rather than selecting topics to fit a predetermined theme, thus honoring each individual student’s interest.

Students selected four broad themes: Flipping the Script, Let’s Get Physical!, Forgotten No More, and See Me, Feel Me, Read Me. Flipping the Script explores the retellings of old stories and the origins of new forms of expression. Let’s Get Physical! explores the physical form of the book, including directions for making your own book. Forgotten No More brings to light stories and authors that have been overlooked. The final section, See Me, Feel Me, Read Me, reflects on the many ways in which we engage with books. In the final article of that section and of the publication overall, Lanie Varnell reflects on the connection between books and mental health and leaves readers with an important list mental health resources.

Students worked together to design and lay out the publication. Madison Smith, our Canva master, designed the “Favorite Reads” feature. True to her Irish roots, Abigail Keeney developed and designed the “Irish or English” quiz featured in the Forgotten No More section while Chloe Dionne turned her artistic eye toward developing an attractive cover.

Throughout the process, the students kept the faith even though this project was very much an experiment. Robynne warned me that this would be a time-consuming project. She was correct. As I adapted the

class schedule to allow time to work on the digital publication, the students remained committed to the project. I know at times it was probably scary. After all, at the end of the semester, I would have to assign a grade to their work. I want to thank my students for trusting me.

Finally, this publication would not have been possible without the support of the librarians, Andrea Turner and Beth Farwell. Andrea joined us for nearly every class session. She spent countless hours identifying books for our various topical discussions, supporting students in their research projects, and pulling from the stacks dozens, if not hundreds, of books for the students to explore. Likewise, Beth supported this class and its professor in many, many ways as she has with many of my classes over the years. Beth and Andrea are my partners in learning and teaching. In Spring 2023, selected pages from this publication will be transformed into large panels for exhibit in Moody Library. This effort will be led by Eric Ames, Assistant Director for Marketing and Communication for the BU Libraries and ITS and adjunct lecturer in Museum Studies.

I taught this course in Moody 304, one of the two Active Learning Labs available in Moody Library. These classrooms are for classes that use active learning methods. The Active Learning Labs are powered by AV technology and classroom equipment that encourage faculty to experiment with a wide variety of teaching and learning strategies. Finally, a word about the Museum Studies program at Baylor University. The program offers undergraduate majors and minors, including a minor in informal education, a joint BA/MA program, and a graduate program. To learn more about the Museum Studies program, visit www.baylor.edu/museum_studies/.

PhD,

Julie Holcomb,

CA Associate Professor, and Interim Graduate Program Director Museum Studies, Baylor University

Editorial Staff

Katherine Beall

Maegan Brumley Jiachen Chen Chloe Dionne Brynn Freemyer Laine Harper Abigail Keeney Lauren Lykins

Madison Grace McNeece Leila Newhouse Jill Phillips Quinn Puckett Madison Smith Omar Tena Lanie Varnell

Editor Julie L. Holcomb Library Staff Andrea Turner Beth Farwell Eric Ames

Writers/Designers

Arts and Special Collections Research Center

The Arts and Special Collections Research Center is home to resources from the fourth century to the present. With over 48,000 volumes, the Center holds books, media, book arts, scholars’ libraries, archives, early printed music and more.

Rare Books and Manuscripts include books published before 1801 covering a wide range of subject matter, as well as exquisite replicas of medieval works. You can find some of the first books printed on a press, hold documents created in our country’s infancy, read sermons preached centuries ago, read about early medical remedies, investigate rare Bibles, or experience beautiful illuminations in our manuscript facsimiles.

Our Nineteenth Century Collection holds a wealth of information on topics including literature, medicine, slavery, religion, women breaking barriers, life in nineteenth century America and a little bit of everything in between. The collection includes poetry, memoirs, Bibles, and more to explore.

The Music Collections include a wide array of rare and unique materials including early American tune books, manuscripts of contemporary composers, and an extensive collection of popular sheet music from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

The Scholars’ Collections hold scholar’s libraries, papers and other unique collections covering a wide range of topics including the New Testament, philosophy, theater, church history, archaeology, the Dead Sea Scrolls, medieval history, Celtic language and literature, German and early law, and World War II.

The Baylor Book Arts Collection consists of nearly 2,000 pieces of art in book (and sometimes not-so-book) form. Artists have used the idea of the book as their inspiration and medium of expression.

The wide-ranging collection includes limited edition works as well as many one-of-a-kind artists’ books and include poetry, sculpture, handmade paper, watercolor, prints, calligraphy, a variety of binding techniques, and endless creativity through communication of ideas.

Researchers, classes, and community members are welcome and encouraged to visit and use these unique materials housed in Moody Library. Contact RareCollections@baylor.edu for more information.

Andrea Turner

Baylor University Libraries Special Collections Manager Arts and Special Collections Research Center

Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.

~ Neil Gaiman

The One Ring That Did Not Always Rule All

J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit is a renowned children’s fantasy novel that has sold over 600 million copies worldwide. The beloved children’s novel is known for its wonderful adventure and is now regarded as the prequel to The Lord of the Rings trilogy Tolkien would later write. However, The Hobbit was not always planned to be a prequel to a continuing story. Originally it was just a stand-alone story with a satisfying ending for any reader. This means that certain aspects of the story may not have been as important as we see them now. Today, we often refer to the preciousss or the “One Ring,” but it was not always that significant. In Tolkien’s original novel, the Ring did not have as much backstory or weight in the story, and he later changed aspects to connect it to The Lord of the Rings. In the original version of The Hobbit written and published in 1937, the ring was only referred to as a Magic Ring and does not have any significant background information on it. In the chapter “Riddles After Dark,” the reader is first introduced to the ring. Bilbo finds the ring on the cave floor, and he picks it up, the same as what we know today. What follows though is drastically changed. In the original, Bilbo finds the ring and then is introduced to Gollum, an unsuspecting figure. He is a little odd, but mostly harmless. They decide to play the riddle game, going back and forth asking riddles for a prize, the prize a birthday present Gollum had. They played the riddle game and Bilbo won in both versions. Gollum was upset, but he held to the rules and was going to give him his prize. The problem was, he had lost the gift. His birthday

Tolkien originally envisioned the Lord of the Rings as a 6-book series with the following titles for each book: The Return of the Shadow, The Treason of Isengard, The Journey to Mordor/ The Two Towers, The War of the Ring, and The Return of the King. However, when Tolkien took the plan to his publisher, the publisher told him he must limit the series to three books. That led us to have the Lord of the Rings trilogy as we know and love today.

present was the Magic Ring that he would use to become invisible for the purpose of helping him survive, like when he needed to find a goblin for food. He scurries around trying to find it and panics because he does not have anything to give Bilbo. Bilbo is polite, knowing he has something that was not his anyway, and reasons with Gollum to just lead him out of the cave instead of giving him the present, seeing as he would no longer have it anyway. Gollum agrees and leads him down to a passageway. There he tells Bilbo he would go no further but if he continued to follow the passage, he eventually would get out and be outside. Bilbo thanks him and the story continues from there the same we now are familiar with.

This is drastically different from what we know today of the story of Bilbo and Gollum and the Ring. Today we see a nastiness to Gollum and see the pity Bilbo has for him. In the modern version, the prize was for Bilbo to be led out of the cave, but Gollum never intended to do that. This leads to Bilbo using the Ring, learning of its power, and sneakily following Gollum to the passageway he would eventually use to get out and escape the goblins. Tolkien’s updated chapter ties the story of the Ring and Bilbo’s discovery of it to The Lord of the Rings and making Gollum a pitied villain. The interactions are different and we as the reader now see why Gollum was so upset at Bilbo and called the Baggins family thieves. This shows how characters can change and develop in an author’s mind and changing one element could switch the outcome completely.

The re-writing of The Hobbit shows how things change over time, and not all is as it seems. One day a character who is a brief companion to the hero suddenly becomes an ongoing nuisance and villain to the story. Without this change, however, the tone of The Lord of the Rings would have been completely different, and The Hobbit would not have connected as smoothly. This change brings a whole new meaning to my preciousss, and it is one that will live on until the end.

Lauren

Lykins

History and Museum Studies Majors/Archaeology Minor

Autobiography Class Activity

After studying examples of biography and autobiography, including examples from the Baylor Book Arts Collection, the students in The History and Curation of Book Collections spent a class session creating their own autobiography. For this activity, Andrea Turner, Special Collections Manager, demonstrated how to make two basic book structures: an accordionstyle book and an X book.

With these structures in mind, students used a variety of materials different kinds of paper, old magazines, markers, colored pencils, stickers, etc.—to create an autobiography.

Several student projects are featured throughout this magazine.

Inventing Film Noir

There are many genres that have been defined by books.

During the 1940s a new genre emerged in American cinema. Inspired by the popular fiction of the time, this new genre was referred to as film noir. Film noir featured darker themes than previously depicted and was cynical of daily life.

One author responsible for this was James M. Cain. He used his early work experience as an opera singer and later as an insurance salesman to influence his novels. Cain’s novel, Double Indemnity, was published in 1943 and is a vivid example of how his career as an insurance agent influenced his novels. Billy Wilder, who was a new direction in Hollywood at the time, after previously being a screenwriter, became very interested in this material. The film adaptation, Double Indemnity released in 1944, is about a woman, played by Barbara Stanwyck and an insurance salesman, played by Fred MacMurray who work together to kill her husband and collect the insurance money. Due to the Hays Production Code at the time, the ending was changed and the main characters were killed instead of committing double suicide like the novel. The Hays Production Code forced all Hollywood films to adhere to a moral set of values. This code became strictly enforced beginning in

Lana Turner and James M. Cain, Modern Screen, February 1946.

1934 and limited what could and could not be shown on film.

Wilder’s film Double Indemnity, was hugely successful and was nominated for several Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress. This story helped to establish major plot points of film noir. One major element was the femme fatale who brings destruction to those around her. The film itself helped to cement the look of film noir. It featured

the wide use of shadows and venetian blinds which both became typical of film noir. The film also featured a voice over told from the perspective of the main character, which became a definitive element in film noir.

The next of Cain’s books to be adapted for the screen was Mildred Pierce, published in 1941. Out of all the movie adaptations of Cain’s books, this one differs the most from the original novel. After the success of Double Indemnity in 1944, Warner Brothers bought the rights to Mildred Pierce. Michael Curtiz, best known for directing

Lana Turner and John Garfield in The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)

Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck in a publicity still for Double Indemnity (1944).

Casablanca, was chosen to direct the film. Barbara Stanwyck was originally wanted for the role, since she had previously starred in Double Indemnity, but she was not available. Joan Crawford whose career was at a low point, sought after the role and after completing a screen test was given the part. Other stars of the film were Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, and Ann Blyth. This film expands on the newly formed elements of film noir. The novel is a melodrama. The story focuses on Mildred Pierce, a divorced, single mother who struggles to provide for her two daughters. The novel’s storyline centers around Mildred Pierce’s new husband running away with her daughter. The movie’s story was changed to reflect the darker elements of Double Indemnity and it was given a murder plot. In the film, Mildred Pierce’s daughter kills her new husband instead of running away with him. This film was successful, and Joan Crawford won the Oscar for Best Actress.

Zachary Scott and Ann Blyth in Mildred Pierce (1945)

Cain’s third novel to become a film The Postman Always Rings Twice, was his first impactful piece, written in 1936. This novel is about a beautiful married woman who convinces a drifter to murder her husband. It was immediately attracted by Hollywood, but it could not be adapted because of the newly enforce Hays Production Code. So, having two murderers be the main characters of a film could not be used since that was against the moral code. American audiences would have to wait ten years for the production code to begin to relax in response to the changing audiences caused by World War II. However, even though America was not ready, this novel was adapted twice for film in other countries before Hollywood’s most famous adaptation. First, in France in 1939, and then in Italy in 1943, which was at the start of the Italian neo-realism movement. Production for Hollywood’s version of The Postman Always Rings Twice, began in 1944 at MGM, the most prestigious studio in Hollywood. Lana Turner and John Garfield were chosen as the leads. Because the production was relaxed, the storyline of the film remains more faithful to the novel than Cain’s previous film adaptations.

James M. Cain approved all the versions of his adaptations, even though he had no input o the final film product. He liked the changes made on the endings and remarked that some were better than his originals. He loved the actors that starred in each film and commented that they brought his characters to life. The story elements written by Cain, specifically his creation of darker characters with selfish motives, were pivotal in inventing the genre of film noir.

Museum Studies & Film and Digital Media Majors

Katherine Beall

Autobiography Class Activity

Katherine Beall Museum Studies & Film and Digital Media Majors

Little Red Riding Hood

Little Red Riding Hood as illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith (1911).

Little Red Riding Hood is a beloved childhood story about a charming little girl who encounters a terrifying wolf as she falls prey to her naiveite. At least, this is the most common version, and the version closest to the French creation of Charles Perrault in the 17th century. Catherine Orenstein, in her book Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked: Sex, Morality, And the Evolution of a Fairy Tale, focuses on how Little Red's story and how and why it has changed over the course of time.

What do you remember about Little Red Riding Hood? The story has changed so many times over the years, with each culture around the world having their own version or multiple versions. And as oral tradition does, the tragic misadventures of poor Red have morphed and changed as they were passed down so most everyone knows a different version of the story. There is one constant in all of the stories. A little girl meets a beast of some kind and she is wearing something red, be it a cap, a cloak, or a hood. So it begs the question, why has Little Red Riding Hood changed over the 5 centuries of its existence?

Little Red Riding Hood was first created by Charles Perrault in 1667

for Louis XIV. His court was filled with often racy stories to entertain the Gentlemen and Gentle Ladies of the court. As it is a nature of its time, a woman's virginity was meant to be protected until she was married. However, after marriage, especially in the courts, promiscuity was a common occurrence for both men and women. This is reflected quite clearly in Perrault's fairy tales. Each of his stories ended with a moral to entertain the listeners, and his ever famous Little Red Riding Hood is no exception. The moral is as follows: “Children, especially attractive, well bred young ladies should never talk to strangers, for if they should do so, they may well provide dinner for a wolf.” It shows what women were expected to do in this day in age. Perrault's moral went to define and warn the young ladies of the court to protect themselves before marriage. A product of its time. But the first version sets up an important constant, a little girl meets a monster.

The next major installment of Little Red Riding Hood was written by the Brothers Grimm. According to Orenstein "they embellished, redacted, and combined the best elements of parallel tales, and eliminated some stories altogether." With their rewrites of the story, Red finds a new identity. The Grimm's took out the sexuality and promiscuity of their stories, but embellished the violence. Perrault's original message against pre-marital promiscuity is cut and rewritten to reflect the overwhelming new push for Christianity and obedience. In their version, a mother figure is embellished, warning Red not to stray from the path on her way to Grandmas and not to speak to strangers. An authoritative male figure, a hunter, to save Red and her Grandma from their doom. Their version even ends with Red

swearing she will never again be disobedient to her mother, a moral heavily present in the Victorian society. The Grimm's version and it's "patriarchal lesson in female obedience" eloquently highlights how the fairy tale begins to morph with the passing of time. Stories are changed to fit the current societal morals to imbue them in young children in a fanciful and fun way, making the story for children and no longer for adults.

In her fifth chapter Orenstein focuses on Red’s portrayal in the 20th century, mainly in the media. Tex Avery, an animator who was widely censored for some of his creations, animated a short cartoon entitled Red Hot Riding Hood. In his animation, Red is a stripper in Grandma’s House- a bordello- in a short red strapless dress. However, instead of ending up with Red, the Wolf ends up with Grandma, and the pair are seen at Red's last dance with a litter of pups. Avery marks the change of Red in popular media. She is no longer a dainty little girl who needs to follow the path and fight off the wolf. She is strong, she is sexualized, and she needs no wolf. She drips sex and promiscuity, but without the restraints of society telling her not to. She is strong and independent, like women who got a glimpse through the door to the long road towards equality. She is the embodiment of the feminism movement- this is what Red came to represent in the 1900s. She reached out to the single heroines. She was being portrayed as a femme fatale, used in 1953 in Vogue for Riding Hood Red Lipstick, which came with the warning “Wear Riding Hood Red at your own sweet risk... We warn you, you're going to be followed!” Even in music, Red had taken over. Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs "Lil' Red Riding Hood” the Wolf seeks Red for a date and not as a potential meal. Red now exudes confidence and independence, a significant break from her previous incarnations. The message of the portrayals of Red

throughout this century is that "sexual appeal- or lack thereofis the source of feminine power and value...''Here in the 20th century, with the sexual revolution and the rise of feminism, Red is no longer a cautionary tale to watch for wolves, listen to your mother, and hope to be saved by a big, strong man. Red in now an empowering figure, urging women to stake their independence and recognize that women have strength all on their own.

Little Red Riding Hood takes on so many interpretations throughout the years. Red has transformed from a meek little girl to a woman grabbing her sexuality and independence by the reigns and taking control of her own life. Orenstein does a beautiful job highlighting the way Red morphs from culture to culture, from time period to time period. Her book all but screams the truth, the story of Little Red Riding Hood, so much more than other fairy tales, has morphed with the times to show societal values and act as a role model for young girls and women.

Jill Phillips

Classics Major/Museum Studies Minor

The Disneyfying of Fairytales

Today, Disney is known for its amazing works in animation and film. Many beloved Disney movies are taken from other stories, whether a fairytale, novel, or short story, some being close replicas, changing a few details to make it more on brand to Disney. Others are closer to their inspirations, taking parts of the story and using them in a way to further their story. An example of this is the movie Tangled compared to the Brothers Grimm fairytale Rapunzel.

Disney took the fairytale of the Brothers Grimm and adapted it to fit into the Disney brand of family friendly films that encourage children. The movie Tangled is more loosely based on the Brothers Grimm tale, Rapunzel, in that Tangled has a few elements that are the same as its source material, such as the importance of the flower, Rapunzel’s name, the tower, and Rapunzel being taken away from her family as a baby, but many things were changed giving new life to this story. This change in the story also brings different focuses and themes, changing what the reader/viewer gets out of the story. Rapunzel, by the Brothers Grimm, is a short story that focuses on the effect of greed, and heavy elements

referring to sexual impurity and lustfulness. The plant the baker’s wife desires, rampion, is a sexual symbol relating to lustfulness. The original version of the Brothers Grimm fairytale includes the witch finding Rapunzel impregnated by the prince in nightly escapades. The times change, children’s stories used to warn children about the bad things, but today, they are told to embrace the good things. This is seen in the beloved movie Tangled by Disney, which focuses partly on greed but more strongly on following your dreams. It shows Rapunzel taking chances, learning about the dreams of others, and taking her life into her own hands. Rapunzel is presented in a way that makes her bold and strong to take her life back after Mother Gothel took her as a young child.

With these themes in mind, the original tale gives new insight to the story of Rapunzel. It does not start with her as a royal princess, but the daughter of a baker and his wife. HIs wife longs for the plant Rampion, which is grown only in the witch’s garden. He sneaks into the garden and steals it for his wife once, but she has a greedy lust for it from that point on. One night he gets caught taking the flower and makes a deal with the witch to trade the plant for their firstborn child. When they do finally have a baby girl, they give her to the witch who names her “Rapunzel” after the plant. The witch then takes her to a tower far off and that is where she stays. Many years later, a prince stumbles across Rapunzel singing from the tower and that is when he

Rapunzel by David Hockney from Six Fairy Tales From the Brothers Grimm. (2012). Fair use.

finds her. They have their “moments”, after which Rapunzel becomes pregnant, and when the witch catches the prince, she causes thorny bushes to grow so they cannot meet again. He falls into them and is blinded, doomed to never find the tower again. The witch then takes the pregnant Rapunzel to a cottage somewhere he will never find. He eventually, after about 10 years, stumbles upon this cottage and hears her singing. He falls into her arms and Rapunzel starts to cry because her prince came back. Her tears then heal his eyes, and he can see once more. After this he takes her and their children back to his castle and they live happily ever after. Through this we see some elements that match the Disney version, but on the surface, they are complete opposites. A heavy topic to discuss, even the “child friendly” version the Grimm Brothers made later still has sexual hints to it with the main idea of greed and lust. Every character is affected by the lust of Rapunzel’s parents, which overflows and leads to each following event. It shows how lust can be dangerous, as it does not only affect one person, but can affect multiple people.

Disney changes almost the entirety of the story into a kid friendly adventure about chasing your dreams. The element of a flowery plant still starts the troubles of Rapunzel, but it is Mother Gothel, the witch, who is greedy and lustful of the flower. This leads to her kidnapping Rapunzel and locking her in a tower so she can keep the magic powers of the flower for herself. Time jumps to Rapunzel’s 18th birthday, and she hasn’t seemed to mind the tower so much, but longs to explore the outside world now that she is older. Mother Gothel refuses, so Rapunzel finds another way with Flynn Rider, a thief. He stumbles upon the tower by accident like the prince. They make a pact to go see the “floating lights” in exchange for the satchel he stole since she hid it from him in the tower. Through this adventure they create a bond and start to fall in love. Eventually Mother Gothel plots to separate them and keep Rapunzel for herself for forever, but they defeat her. Like the source material, Rapunzel heals Flynn with her tears as they then live Happily Ever After. As this story unravels, greed is as present as in the original, but the idea that everyone has dreams they want to follow is woven throughout from Rapunzel to the thugs and ruffians. A message for

parents is also included as they must eventually let their kids go off and explore the world. When you try to keep them safe and are overprotective, they eventually will rebel, and tension will rise between them. Therefore, they must be let go, not just thrown into the world, but to let them discover things, knowing one day they will leave, but they could come back to visit.

Rapunzel got a whole face lift to make it more child friendly and something safe for the children during this time. The changes show how things given to children have shifted focus over the years to protect children. Children’s books before had many lessons of the time and as in the case for Rapunzel adult themes and warnings to children. They were fairytales and fun stories still, but less was hidden from the children of the time. Often these tales held lessons for children to learn Today, often things for children are fanciful and an escape. People are careful about what they give their children and want it to be family friendly without such heavy topics. This shows how the Disneyfying of fairytales was so big for fairytales. Many stories are softened for the enjoyment of children to keep the topics light and heroes to follow. There is not anything wrong with making something for children, but it is also important to know the true stories of before.

Lauren Lykins History and Museum Studies Majors/Archaeology Minor

Classic Retellings

Classical historic fiction is a reemerging genre that has been spurred on by the popularity of the books and authors on social media. “Book-Tok”, the niche section of TikTok largely responsible for the recent exposure to all types of books, helped to gather a cult following of so many of these books. Authors like Madeline Miller have had their books featured on the app for their retellings of the Trojan War and other ancient Greek history and myths. Miller, as well as many others, have helped to bring the idea of Classics and classical studies to a new, younger generation, and brought on the idea with fervor. These classical retellings are essential to help introduce ancient history to a modern audience, however, by deviating from the source material are the authors making these classical works accessible or are they merely exploiting them.

The Trojan War is a popular topic of these books with other famous mythological stories being a highlight in the others. It helps to expose these stories in an approachable manner and in a way that is a fresh telling of the tried-and-true version. I can’t be too harsh on these because it is because of these telling’s that I have chosen to become a classicist (thanks Rick Riordan and Percy Jackson). Because of the exposure to the stories in a way that was more than a bedtime story but less than someone handing 8-year-old me a copy of the Iliad or the

Odyssey and saying, “have fun kid.” However, these books come with their problems. They all have one thing in common, they have taken a piece of source material and changed it ever so slightly to provide a new look. These books all deal with a similar problem however there is a huge defining factor that differentiates them. Miller, by setting her book in the Iliad, disguises the events as potentially historically accurate events. By doing this, she has deviated from the original source material rather dramatically. And it has caused some problems in the edification of emerging classicists as well as just general education of the history of the period.

The Song of Achilles takes a stance on the classicist’s debate on the sexuality of the two Greek heroes. In her book, Patroclus and Achilles are more than just friends and the book explores their love for one another. The debate has been going on for centuries, honestly it has been going on since Homer decided to keep the relationship intentionally ambiguous and- to our knowledge- never commented on it. Even the ancient Greeks argued on this, with comments from Plato, Xenophon, and Socrates. Socrates, in the Symposium ,written by Xenophon, argues that Achilles and Patroclus were no more than comrades “.Homer pictures us Achilles looking upon Patroclus not as the object of his passion but as a comrade... not because they shared a common bed but because of mutual admiration and respect. (Xenophon, 8.31, 360’s BC)” But the others do indeed argue, or at the very least, consider that the relationship between the two men was something more. Historically, Achilles and Patroclus were not lovers. Their ambiguous relationship was invented in the Iliad. These modern books lay this trap for their readers. By taking a position in this argument, on either side, Miller’s opinion overtakes the historical fact- that Homer never defined the relationship as “just friends” or as “lovers”.

Miller’s version of events raises an interesting question, did Achilles keep women as sex slaves or did he simply say he did so that he and

Madeline Miller

Patroclus could continue with their relationship? According to Miller, Patroclus convinced Achilles to take in as many women as he could to protect them from rape and abuse by the other Greacen kings and princes. Historically, the answer is yes, Achilles did keep these women as a harem for himself. Achilles does seem to be fond of Briseis. There is no solid answer and certainly not one that everyone can agree on. But even so, the likelihood that Achilles and Patroclus had an open gay relationship is slim. While it would be ignorant and even irresponsible for anyone to claim that homosexuality didn’t appear in the ancient worlds, one could say that the laws were rather ambiguous in some places and others were very vocal on one side or the other. Miller spins the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus from their first meeting as children and then throughout the remainder of their lives. She uses several of the same literary tactics found in romance novels today, a silent pining that culminates into a mutual love and wish for the other. As Miller emphasizes the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus to the point that it is the main plot point of the book. The historical actuality of the Trojan War and the oral tradition of the Iliad become nothing more than a backdrop for the potential of a modern romance novella. Miller’s Song of Achilles is a beautiful retelling of the Iliad that pulls in a clever a fresh retelling. However, It also acts as a comment on a historical debate when in actuality it is a thinly veiled attempt to appeal to modern sensibilities. Modern retellings of classical literature are essential to the field of classics and helps to ensure that a new generation of academics and readers are exposed to the stories of the ancient world. However, in doing so many authors deviate from the original source materials and force modern societal standards on history and ancient mythologies. Madeline Miller is a brilliant author who tackled a very difficult source material while also pulling in and

commenting on debates within the classical realm. By making statements however, she lead her reader to believe that what the author believe is historically accurate. I will acknowledge that she never claims that the events in her book are historically accurate, however never says that it isn’t accurate. The Iliad is widely regarded as very historically accurate and act as a form of history for academics as it shows a period of time with little to no records. So, if these sources for modern retellings are considered fact, or basis for fact, it is understandable that the other books based off of the originals to also be considered fact. However, when these retellings deviate from the source material and force modern societal standards on history and mythology, they unintentionally mislead their readers.

Jill Phillips

Classics Major/Museum Studies Minor

“I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book! When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.”

~Jane Austen

Changes of Binding of Chinese Books Reflects the Changing Time

China was the first country to make paper, so China's binding technology has a long history of development. Chinese binding is influenced by binding technologies from different countries and cultures and by wars and some major historical events. The materials bound in China are bamboo, silk, wood, and paper. With the change of dynasties and the development of binding materials, the binding process of Chinese books also changed with the times.

Before paper was created in China, people began to write in some materials that could be preserved. At first, people engraved characters on stone tablets and animal bones. With the reform of craftsmanship and technology, Chinese ancestors made light and thin materials, and the binding era began. “The earliest bound materials used by the Chinese for the transmission of their written literature were bamboo and wood.” People use a rope to assemble long and thin bamboo or wood so

that they are flat when unfolded and can be rolled up for storage. Chinese traditional writing often starts from the upper right corner and ends at the lower left corner. Therefore, this binding method is related to Chinese writing habits. “After the Han dynasty (206 BD 220 AD) bamboo and wood continued to be used for writing”, but some other materials developed gradually. Paper was invented in the Han Dynasty, but it was expensive and complicated to make, so it was not widely used at that time. Silk was another writing material, “it was more convenient to carry about on person than were the wooden documents and also it is stored more easily.” Books made of silk are soft and thin, so silk-making books often have covers made of soft but thick and wear-resistant materials. As same as the history of books in other countries, only nobles could afford books made of silk and paper due to their detailed craftsmanship and high cost.

In the past, small countries near China would pay tribute to the Chinese royal family, which meant giving a gift. These gifts are often local specialties and items of value, and it helps with cultural exchange and dissemination from the current perspective. In this context, “books in the Indian style were brought to China.” The Tang Dynasty (618 AD-907 AD) was China's most prosperous era of Buddhism. This Indian style binding is “like the pleats on an accordion.” “When reciting Buddhist sutras, accordion-folded books were easier to handle than scrolls,” so this change is related to the spread and influence of Buddhism in China. Another associated with Buddhism binding is whirlwind binding. Whirlwind binding is “made by pasting the first page and the last page together with a sheet twice the size of either page.” This binding enables the reader to go back to the first page after reading the last for continuous repetition. This binding "was used most heavily by the

Buddhists and the Taoists.” The promotion of Buddhism in the Tang Dynasty also indirectly promoted binding development.

Butterfly Binding originated in the Song Dynasty (960 AD-1279 AD). It came about because “increasing need for reference books and textbooks of all kinds and the desirability of putting more text into a more compact area than the roll could accommodate.” Butterfly Binding Similar to the binding method of modern books, paper “were folded down the center and gathered one by one into a pile. Paste was applied to the folded edges piled together.” It is not a coincidence that modern books are bound the way they are, but the best solution people have gotten in their lives and practices.

Stitched double-leaved books first appeared in the Ming Dynasty, and this binding method was still used after the founding of the People's Republic of China. Stitched Double-leaved books contain hard front and back covers with softer inner pages. These papers are stitched together with rope. It is a cheap and simple way of binding, so this method reduces the price of books and makes them affordable for lowincome people. This binding method also helped preserve and disseminate China's intellectual property, especially during the war years.

Binding varies with different materials, needs, and cultures. With the development of culture and technology, it is gradually changing from a craft and technology to an art. As we enter the age of eBooks, the art and craft of bookbinding are fading out of sight. The days of binding may be passing away for more eco-friendly eBooks.

Jiachen Chen Anthropology Major

Autobiography Class Activity

Jiachen Chen Anthropology Major

Archaeology of Books

The Physical Remains of Classical Literature

Library of Celsus in Ephesus

When discussing ancient libraries, what immediately comes to mind? If it's the Library of Alexandria, you are not alone in this thought. However, the Library of Alexandria was not the only ancient library to exist and was certainly not the oldest. During the classical period and even long before, libraries dotted the landscape. Libraries whose physical remains still exist to this day. Yet, they were built and modeled differently than the libraries we are so very used to and have been frequenting our entire lives. The Library of Celsus or Ephesus, constructed in the 2nd century CE is one of the bestpreserved libraries, containing a unique feature that instantaneously identifies it as a library. The library, whose impressive facade still stands in modern-day Turkey, contained niches in the walls. These niches have become the telltale sign of a classical library and are present in the archaeological remains of libraries found across Europe and the Near East during the classical period. This is because books did not exist physically as they do today. Writings existed in the form of scrolls and these niches or alcoves were sized to fit these scrolls. At its peak, this particular library is said to have housed over 12,000 scrolls. Sadly, like the library of Alexandria, the interior was destroyed by a fire around 400 CE yet its proud facade still exists to this day, making many visitors imagine what wealth of information it would have housed and what splendor it would have once stood in.

Library of Nysa

The remains of the Library of Nysa stand as another example of the classical library. Also in modern-day Turkey, it is Turkey’s second bestpreserved library dating to the 2nd century CE as well. Like the Library of Celsus, the Library of Nysa remains consist of niches intended for the storage of scrolls. Beyond this, the Library of Nysa is also believed to have consisted of a hallway and rooms that may have been used for scroll storage or it may have served as a barricade against moisture or dampness, a book’s worst enemy after fire. This feature may also have been present in the Library of Celsus. Even to the people of the past, knowledge was power and was meant to be protected and preserved at all costs.

Another misconception is the belief that libraries only existed around the Mediterranean and in the Near East during the classical period. The Roman Empire in particular extended far beyond the Mediterranean and with this, so did libraries. One such library has been found in Cologne, Germany, and is now known to be Germany’s oldest library. Like the library of Celsus, it possesses many niches that at first puzzled archaeologists as they could not determine the use of these niches. Nothing like this building had been found in Germany to date and archaeologists were at a loss. This was until they realized that this structure was in fact a library. This particular library would have sat at the center of the original marketplace or forum, making it a public gathering spot, just as the modern library is. The discovery of this library has led archaeologists to

Library in Cologne

Map of Known Classical Libraries

question how many more libraries are out there across the Roman Empire. Especially if all that is found of these often two-story buildings are the foundations. There would be none of the telltale wall niches, perfectly sized for scrolls.

So overall, what do archaeologists look for when searching for a library? What are the features that are just too odd and unique to be anything else? There are three key features, one of them being an instantaneous sign. Wall niches, fitted for scrolls, long corridors meant to prevent dampness, and large buildings in public spaces. It truly makes sense that during a period of such enlightenment, libraries would run rampant. The ideal gathering spot to share new ideas, to learn more about the world, and to simply gather as a community. We would not be who and where we are today if these ancient peoples did not hungrily seek knowledge the same way people do today. This beautiful tradition has been carried on for thousands of years to a much bigger, and greater extent and will hopefully continue for thousands of more years. I wonder what future archaeologists will imagine when excavating the remains of great libraries such as the Trinity College Library in Dublin or the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Will they be filled with the same awe and wonder that we feel when remembering Alexandria or Celsus?

Keeney

Abigail

Anthropology & Linguistics Majors/Archaeology Concentration/Museum Studies & Philosophy Minors

Autobiography Class Activity

Book Form Through Time

Replica Gutenberg Press from the collections of the International Printing Museum. Fair use.

Book printing was revolutionized with Johann Gutenberg’s printing press, allowing several books to be worked on at a time through his invention of the moveable-type printing press. However, there were two important precursors to the printed book: the scroll and the codex.

After the oral tradition, scrolls were the first written compiled form of stories. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a scroll as a “roll (as of papyrus, leather, or parchment) for writing a document.” Some of the most famous scrolls in the world include the “Dead Sea Scrolls,” “The Book

A fragment from the Book of War scroll, part of the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at the Cincinnati Museum Center. Fair use.

of War,” and famous Chinese paintings completed on scrolls. Among the Christian tradition, the Dead Sea Scrolls are famous as they contribute to a large majority of the Hebrew Bible. The Dead Sea Scrolls were found in 11 of the Qumran Caves and were composed during the third century before the common era and before year 70 of the common era. Secondly, “The Book of War” which was composed between 20 and 50 of the common era, was mostly written in Hebrew. It tells about the cosmology of the world, and primarily focuses on the battle between good and evil. Chinese paintings were often done on scrolls and depicted mythic animals, emperors, and war victories.

Eventually, scrolls transitioned into a more modern form called a “codex.” Merriam-Webster defines a codex as “a manuscript book especially of Scripture, classics, or ancient annals.” The codex was formed in antiquity and the Middle Ages. The best way to think about a “codex” is essentially a modern printed book that was handwritten

Image 78 of the Dresden Codex. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.

instead. There are several popular codices the plural form of codex but a few of them are “The Dresden Codex,” “The Treatise of the Vessels,” and “De Arte Venandi cum Avibus.” “The Dresden Codex” was found in Germany but is most likely surviving from the Mayan Codices between 1,000 and 1,100 of the common era. While “The Treatise of the Vessels” is not itself religious but is purported to contain the location of reserves from King Solomon’s temple and the Ark of the Covenant. Thirdly, “De Arte Venandi cum Avibus” is said to have been composed in 1240 of the common era in Latin, focusing mainly on birds in the time of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. Finally, modernity was brought to the modern book form by way of Johann Gutenberg’s innovation of the printing press. Prior to the invention of the printing press, the making of the scrolls or codices required a lot of handwork, requiring fine attention to detail and careful consideration both in the words being written, but also the decoration of the scroll or codex. Gutenberg made the modern form of printing much easier to print on a mass scale. Since then, printing has become more dependent on machinery rather than manual labor such as Gutenberg’s printing press. Even though Gutenberg made it a much faster process, since the focus on machinery, books can be printed at a speed unknown to history before us. Modern books have seen a lot of historical changes in an effort to streamline the process of bookmaking.

Madison Grace McNeece Religion Major/Museum Studies Minor

Directions

1. Make the end papers

• Use one piece of paper to trace a rectangle that is double the size of the loose sheet.

• Use the ruler to guide the utility knife while cutting the endpapers to size. Depending on the thickness of the paper, you may need to go over the lines a couple of times.

• Use an object with a sharp (but not razor sharp) edge to score the middle of the paper so that it will easily fold in half. An inexpensive bone folder is an excellent tool for this task.

• Repeat for one more sheet of end paper.

2. Glue the sheets together

• When the edges of the loose sheets and the end papers are lined up together, carefully clamp the top and the bottom about 2 centimeters from the intended bound edge and set it with this edge facing up.

• Using the PVA glue, paint an even layer across the stack of papers. Note: the glue can go onto the sides of the end papers, but avoid any glue on the head and tail.

3. Make the cover

• Align the right edge of your book with the edge of your cover paper.

• Trace the top and slowly, without completely picking up the book, move it onto its spine.

• Trace along the top and sides. This is to account for the area that needs to cover the spine.

• Continue all the way through so that the book now lays open to the left and finish tracing the top and side.

• Cut out with utility knife.

4. Glue the cover

• Take a large brush and paint an even layer of glue along the inside of the cover paper.

• Place the spine firmly in the middle of the glued paper. Guide

the sides upwards and press against the end papers.

• Smooth out the edges with the ruler.

• Leave the book to be pressed overnight.

Chloe Dionne University Scholar with Art History, Great Texts, and Museum Studies Concentrations

“One glance at a book and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps someone dead for 1000 years. To read is to voyage through time.”

~ Carl Sagan

Female Writers Publishing Under Male Pseudonyms

It was quite common for female authors during the nineteenth century to use a male pseudonym to keep their real identity hidden. Why did they do this? Female authors would take on these nom de plumes for a multitude of reasons. One of these reasons was to avoid stigmatization from the general society at the time. In order to write in a maledominated genre or reach a wider audience, female writers would make the choice to hide their identity. For example, Mary Ann Evans wrote under the pen name “George Eliot” in the nineteenth century. She is one of the most important English novelists of her era, second only to Charles Dickens. Her novel, Middlemarch, is one of the greatest novels written. Evans was involved in a love affair with a married man, who went by the name of George Lewes. She allegedly lived with him for twenty-four years and thus her male nom de plume derived from his name.

There are some female writers who assisted their husbands in completing or adding to their book. Most of the time, the women did not get credit for it. An example of this can be traced back to a novel written in 1925 by the male American novelist, Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald. He

Mary Ann Evans/George Eliot

is famously attributed as the author of The Great Gatsby. This novel illustrated the unattainable American dream while depicting wealth and status as a socialite. The problem arising from this well-known book is that behind the great writer F. Scott Fitzgerald, was his wife, Zelda Fitzgerald. She wrote a major part of the final, published work and is now semi-credited for her contribution. However, when the novel first came out, she was credited nothing from her husband. I believe that now she should be recognized as an assistant author, similar to when the artists that assisted the main artist on a new music album are accredited for their work on the album.

As of recent development, publishing companies are now re-publishing books by female authors with their real names instead of their male pseudonyms. This began in 2020, when twenty-four classic female authors were published under their real names to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the “Women’s Prize for Fiction.” The “Reclaim Her Name” project rereleased the collection of books, publishing their titles with the author’s real names on the cover for the first time. This project enabled women in the past to receive the publicity they deserved. Women today are able to receive this freely while women in the past were not allowed the same attention.

Madison Smith

Art History Major/Business Administration Minor

Reclaim Her Name List

1. Middlemarch by Mary Ann Evans (pseudonym George Eliot) 2. Marie of the Cabin Club by Ann Petry (Arnold Petri) 3. Indiana by Amantine Aurore Dupin (George Sand) 4. A Phantom Lover by Violet Paget (Vernon Lee) 5. The Life of Martin R. Delany by Frances Rollin Whipper (Frank A. Rollin) 6. Keynotes by Mary Bright (George Egerton) 7. Takekurabe ("Growing Up") by Natsu Higuchi (Ichiyō Higuchi) 8. Garden of Kama by Violet Nicolson (Laurence Hope) 9. How White Men Assist In Smuggling… by Edith Maude Eaton (Mahlon T. Wing)

10.Attila, My Attila! By Edith Cooper & Katherine Bradley (Michael Field)

11.Ye Game and Playe of Chesse Wright)

12.Painted Clay by Doris Boake Kerr (Capel Boake)

13.For Our Country by Fatemeh Soltan Khanum Farahani (Shahein Farahani)

14.Iras: A Mystery by Henrietta Everett (Theo Douglas)

15.The History of Sir Richard Calmady by Mary Kingsley (Lucas Malet)

16.Atla- Story of a Lost Island by Ann Smith (J Gregory Smith) 17.Twilight by Julia Frankau (Frank Danby)

18.The Silence Of Dean Maitland by Mary Tuttiett (Maxwell Gray)

19.The Head Of Medusa by Julia Constance Fletcher (George Fleming)

Some Emotions and a Moral by Pearl Richards (John Oliver Hobbes)

Cecilia De Noël by Mary Hawker (Lanoe Falconer)

Echoes from Mist-land by Aubertine Woodward Moore (Auber Forestier)

Valerie Aylmer by Frances Tiernan (Christian Reid)

A Diplomat's Diary by Julia Cruger (Julien Gordon)

The Roadmender by Margaret Fairless Barber (Michael Fairless)

A Story Untold: The Courtesan Memoirs

Céleste Vénard

The Belle Epoque Era, from 1870-1914, was the “Era of the Courtesan”, a glorified and similarly reviled profession. Most wrote a courtesan’s life off as nothing but frivolous hedonism and vanity, but one courtesan turned countess, Céleste Vénard, would change the way the public saw courtesans and prostitutes alike. Her published memoirs detailing her difficult rise to respectability shocked the public, but also inspired other courtesans to tell their tragic tales as well. Her insights demonstrated how sex-workers of the time weren’t just vain, pleasure seeking, “fallen” women, but complicated beings who endured tragedy, and tried to find some semblance of joy in their lives.

France’s Belle Epoque Era was a time of high opulence for some and the lowest of poverty for others. The Industrial Revolution widened the wealth gap, with the growing middle class making the poor poorer. Life was hard for many working poor, but women were especially vulnerable. Only so many jobs were available, and many didn’t pay well. Even those who came from a wealthy background could be rendered destitute if they had no guardian or no industry, they

could take part in should disaster befall them. Many prostitutes started their careers at sixteen, turning to prostitution either out of desperation or through manipulation. Prostitutes had to be registered on a state registry and could only inhabit certain areas. There were many arbitrary rules applied to prostitutes along with the zoning laws, so most prostitutes found themselves in Saint-Lazare, the prison for prostitutes, at some point in their life. Those who lived in brothels were often indentured to the madams of the house and couldn’t leave until they paid off their debts. They couldn’t get clothes and food because of their geographical restrictions, so they were forced to purchase these from the woman of the house, and only made tips. Brothels were safer than streetwalking, which was far more dangerous, since there was a bigger chance of being attacked, robbed, or arrested. One could be “bought” from a brothel, that is their debt paid off. Those who were freed may be able to slowly work their way into high society, be freed from the register, and live as a courtesan.

Courtesans were a sort of high class

Céleste Vénard

and expensive prostitute, but they often offered more than the typical sex-worker. They were prized for their looks, fashion, conversation, and price. They were often selective with their clients, only taking men of a certain caliber. Some were “kept” by one man, or many at once. These women’s lives were often lauded by the public as one of riches and scandal. Some offered their sympathy though and saw them as victims of situation. This view, however, played only a small role in the work by popular men at the time. Operas like La traviata or literature like Nana, displayed the prostitute and courtesan as a somewhat sympathetic, but ultimately overtly sexual and morally bankrupt woman. Depictions such as these often ended with these women dying violent deaths as a sort of comeuppance for their actions. This reflected Parisian society’s general belief that prostitution was necessary, and these women’s poverty relegated them to this role. They were seen as receptacles for vileness and corruption that would build up in men. This would protect the “respectable” women from this same disrespect.

This was Céleste Vénard’s world and life. She and her mother were poor working class, and after her mother’s lover attempted to sexually assault her, Vénard registered herself as a prostitute at 16 and joined a brothel. She was trapped there for many years, and subject to the violent whims of the customers but had her debts paid by a client and began a dangerous life of street walking. During this time, she began to

Cora Pearl

Liane de Pougy

frequent the Mabille dance hall, where she became known as La Mogador for her figure and skill in dance. This would turn her from a common prostitute into a courtesan. When her lover, Count Lionel de Moreton de Chabrillan, had gambled all his money away, the debtors showed up at La Mogador’s house, believing he was her sole benefactor. She had actually been lending him money, and so went to court to defend herself. It was at this time she taught herself how to write, as she believed she could better defend herself with her writing.

These “scribblings” would become her memoirs.

When her lawyer read them, he showed them to his educated friends who agreed they should be published, so in 1854, they were. After the Count came back from an unsuccessful participation in the Australian gold rush, he asked her to marry him and Vénard accepted. They then moved to Australia, where her reputation had followed her, and her memoirs were flying off the shelves. It was here Céleste continued to write and penned two of her novels, Les voleurs d’or, La Sapho, and the sequel to her memoirs. She returned to Paris to get her work published, and it was during this time her husband died in Australia in 1858, the year her novel La Sapho was

published. The Chabrillan family did everything in their power to get her to renounce her title as a Countess and resorted to bribes and impeded her way to a respectable source of income. She wasn’t deterred and bought a country house with the support of a lawyer, wrote and directed plays, and founded a charity for uneducated girls. The last years of her life were hard, and she could only support herself with the money from her publications. By the end of her life, she’d written 26 plays, 10 novels, many operetta libretti, and 2 memoirs.

Céleste had had no education, which made her rise as an author even more impressive. She had had no formal guidance in writing, only what she had overheard from various clients and men she associated with. Her memoir gave a harsh look into the reality of a courtesan. Many of the events she mentions that lead to her “fall” were shared by prostitutes and courtesans alike. Her status as a poor working girl, her stepfather’s attempted assault, the grooming she experienced at the hands of an older woman, and the fateful day she signed away her life into the “vile book” were all too familiar to other French sex-workers. She attests that the “thought of depravity” never crossed her mind, and that she was a young, scared, and confused girl looking for a way out. Many other courtesans would be inspired to share their own stories of abuse and hardship after Vénard published her memoirs. Cora Pearl told the story of her “fall”, beginning with her sexual assault at the hands of a rich older man who plied her with sweets at the age of fifteen.

Filled with shame, she couldn’t bear return to her grandmother, so she registered herself as a prostitute. Liane de Pougy authored her memoirs and told her beginnings as a prostitute with her seduction into marriage by a soldier who sexually assaulted her on her wedding night. These women had no hope to fight against the system they were born into, so they cheated it, and played the men in their lives who sought to take advantage of them. They weren’t stupid, vain, or helpless. They were intelligent women who were forced into terrible situations with the world out to get them, and they fought back in the only way they could.

Vénard should be commended for her aptitude at writing, her kindness

towards others, and her resilience to fight for a better life for herself. She knew who she was and wouldn’t be swayed by a society that allowed men to do as they pleased with women’s lives and bodies to tell her she was worthless, and her life story didn’t matter. Céleste Vénard was novel for her time, she was a women author, but also came from a poor background, and had spent much of her life working as a sex worker. She inspired others in her time that had a similar background as her to write about their lives and prove to others that their stories mattered too.

Maegan Brumley History Major/Dance & Museum Studies Minors

Maegan Brumley

History Major/Dance & Museum Studies Minors

Carmilla: A Forgotten Tale and Exploration of LGBT Characters

Everyone knows Dracula but no one ever really knows the vampire story that came before.

Carmilla was published in 1872 and has been long overshadowed by Bram Stoker’s Dracula despite predating the novel’s 1897 release by 26 years.

Carmilla was also overshadowed in the movie adaptation realm with Dracula receiving a movie of the same name in 1931 while Carmilla would not receive an adaptation of the same name until 1980 with a polish film. The novella follows Laura, the narrator, and her time with the mysterious Carmilla staying in her father’s home with her as a strange illness plagues the nearby town. Both Carmilla’s and Dracula’s stories are told in a similar style, with the main narrator being human and the object of attention of the titular vampire though Dracula is told through the lens of journals and letters as opposed to Carmilla’s more direct narrative through Laura’s perspective.

Throughout the novella there are various moments in which Carmilla and Laura speak to each other and acknowledge an attraction between

them. “’I have been in love with no one, and never shall,’ she whispered, ‘unless it should be with you.’ … Her soft cheek was glowing against mine. ‘Darling, darling,’ she murmured, ‘I live in you; and you would die for me, I love you so.’” The most striking thing when reading Carmilla is the lack of feelings of shame and a lack of the author blatantly stating that homosexuality is something bad.

Fun Fact

The first several paragraphs of the last chapter of the novella read basically like a natural science book about vampires.

Laura and Carmilla never truly acknowledge the fact that they are both women. A common literary trope when dealing with less modern works exploring homosexuality is the presence of some sort of shame or something that will try to get the reader to acknowledge it as something that is bad or immoral in some way.

The first time Carmilla was adapted in any way was in the 1932 film Vampyr. The film included other tales included in the Collection In a Glass Darkly but all references to Carmilla’s and Laura’s homosexual feelings were removed. The first film to be more faithfully adapted from Carmilla, though with a more modern setting for the time, is a French film by the name of Et Mourir de Plaisir which was released in 1960. The French film retained much of the lesbian moments but when the film was brought to England and the United States the lesbian scenes were significantly cut out.

Carmilla as it stands is a wonderful exploration of the vampire story while adding the attraction between Laura and Carmilla as something unremarkable in their lives. It is overshadowed by the far more popular Dracula and so has been slowly forgotten about with very few actual adaptations of the story.

Quinn Puckett History Major/Museum Studies Minor

“Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary.”

~ Jim Rohn

The Impact of The Social Contract on the French Revolution

In his book, The Social Contract, Jean-Jacques Rousseau discusses theories on how societies develop, while criticizing the French government. His impact is still evident today under the guise of the internet, where people are free to discuses ideas and critiques the political atmosphere. He argues that people need to work together to survive and refers to the way human beings coexist as the social contract. He also raises many objections to the French social contract, writing, “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.” Rousseau championed the idea that men should free themselves of the oppression they faced every day, "Every man having been born free and master of himself, no one else may under any pretext whatever subject him without his consent. To assert that the

son of a slave is born a slave is to assert that he is not born a man." Presenting these radical ideas to the masses changed their view of the French monarchy and their roll society.

The Social Contract contributed to the French Revolution by spreading ideas of different ways to run a government. The French Revolution was a socially transformative movement in France during the 18th century. The people decided to overthrow the government in favor of one that would benefit the lower class instead of the aristocrats.

The Social Contract bolstered the common people’s understanding that there could be a government concerned with their freedom and fair treatment, popularizing the idea of a sovereign citizen. The spread of this knowledge was only possible because the printing press had come to France, allowing people access to the information that sparked these essential discussions.

A similar movement was occurring in America at the time with the distribution of the Common Sense pamphlet by Thomas Paine. The French and American rebellions provided access to information, allowing the people a voice.

The political ideas behind these publications spread quickly do to printing press, which evened the playing field between the rich and common people. The insurgency would have been out of reach to most of the lower class. The evolution of ideas is still evident today. The

existence of the internet prevents the control of information today. Now anyone can access information at the click of a button and participate in a debate on the subject with people all over the world. Technological developments help to improve equality in society.

While Rousseau had many accomplishments, he did not necessarily live a happy life. He was born in Switzerland and moved to France later in life. The Calvinists were horrified by The Social Contract, ordering that the book be burned and declaring Rousseau a criminal, forcing him to seek refuge outside France. Toward the end of his life he was exiled and started losing his grip on his reality.

Rousseau’s philosophy changed France by providing ideas on how society should be organized. His impact is still evident today.

Brynn Freemyer Museum Studies Major/History Minor

Seduction of the Well-Meaning: Comic Books and Good Intentions

Seduction of the Innocent is a book about comic books. More specifically, it is a book about how comic books are bad for children. Published in 1954 by psychologist Fredric Wertham, the book is a cultural touchstone in the censorship of American comics. Seduction of the Innocent was not the beginning of anti-comic sentiment in the United States. It was, however, a widely read work whose ideas influenced the form that the movement took as a whole. It is well-remembered now by comics lovers as a caricature of censorship, a malicious attack intended to justify the founding of the Comics Code Authority. This assertion is untrue.

The book is also, in significant part, untrue. Wertham’s core concept was that when children read comics in which crime, violence, or otherwise immoral acts were portrayed, they were drawn to imitate such acts. A great many people found the book to be

entirely persuasive it sold very well. Beyond that, academic responses representing positive views on restricting comic books, restricting comic subject matter, or general censorship of children’s literature that refer to Wertham and Seduction of the Innocent can be found up into nearly the modern day.

This is not to say that it was universally beloved; many people have disagreed with Wertham or cast doubt on the quality of his scholarship. Critiques began to circulate against Seduction of the Innocent before the book’s publishing. Despite this, the ideas it was built on, whether it be the broad idea that comics are hyper-violent or the specific claim that Batman and Robin’s relationship has a homoerotic subtext, remain.

Seduction of the Innocent seemed to confirm people’s worst fears. It was filled with anecdotes from troubled youths and their family members that fixated on comics they loved reading them, they repeated behaviors from them, their reading of comics was the only noted cause of their behavior. Those anecdotes, however, often omitted aspects of patients’ lives (such as other factors in their maladjusted behavior), altered their statements (to draw comics to the fore, or even to insert them into the narrative), or misrepresented the means by which Wertham got his data (such as implying a person was his patient, when truthfully they were treated by a colleague). This largely came to light in a study by Carol L. Tilley in 2012. Despite this and other, more obvious issue (such as fabricating the plots of comic books, which might be checked quite simply), the ideas lingered in people’s minds.

Wertham himself believed in what he was doing and acted in what he thought was the public’s best interest. He was, truly and sincerely, concerned with the well-being of children in his care. It is that concern, however, which is the seduction Wertham could not acknowledge. Ideas playing on fear and righteous protectiveness are easy to believe in. A book that suggests taking away a new and alien form of media and curtailing what writing and art can be published so as to keep away the wrong and dangerous kind, is easy to believe

in. To its disciples, Seduction of the Innocent is not simply a symbol of a modern controversy, but a symbol of everything one wants to feel good about.

Even today, decades after the publication of this book, censorship is one of the conflicts that has remained in American culture, especially when it comes to children’s media. As with the anti-comic movement, Seduction of the Innocent was not the beginning or the end, but it is certainly enduring.

Museum Studies Major/History Minor

Leila Newhouse

Nascar Meets Love Triangle and Makes Nascar Passion Novella

Have you ever had the urge to read a whimsical tale set in the crisp Ohian weather that turns into a grizzly whodunnit? Well then Midwestern Corn Gothic could be right for you. No? Too grizzly? Well then how about an enemies to lovers story set in a fast food restaurant? Might I suggest a Fast Food Romance Novella? While these may sound outlandish and quite frankly made up, these are in fact real genres with real followings however large or small. With the rise of hyper personalized recommendations becoming commonplace in our daily consumption of media, it’s only natural for the literary world to follow suit as an attempt to stay relevant. This need for relevancy in tandem with the popularization of personalized recommendations has led to the adoption of micro genres.

First coined in 1975 by a French journal, it was used to describe historical fiction by time period. Similarly today, the term is used to describe highly specific sections of media that cannot be accurately or fully described by an umbrella genre like historical fiction. While at first glance this may seem insignificant, micro genres have become increasingly popular in recent years. Audible, the largest audiobook streaming service, recently published its data from this listening quarter. At the top of the list beating out several umbrella genres for most listened to were microgenres. Some of these high listening examples include, Small-Town Secrets, Female Musician Music Memoirs, Intergalactic Space Politics, and Unusual Time Structures. Seemingly closer to the definition of trope rather than genre, microgenres have swiftly gotten an iron grip on these definitions blurring the line between trope, genre, and narrative flare. What’s so interesting about this idea of micro categorization is its pertinence in so many different areas of life. From aesthetic to political, the use of specific and niche verbiage has taken precedence in conversation leading to what feels like a sensory overload waiting to happen as we continue to try and keep up with the newest terms.

James Baldwin, Author of Go Tell It To The Mountain, perfectly described this feeling saying “Our passion for categorization, life neatly fitted into pegs, has led to an unforeseen, paradoxical distress; confusion, a breakdown of meaning. Those categories which were meant to define and control the world for us have boomeranged us into chaos.” This was already a conversation being had in 1955 when Baldwin spoke this quote and has only become progressively more applicable as we catapult into the future of personalized recommendations.

Clearly we can see this problem isn’t just limited to literary works but really anything that can be categorized and labeled. This begs the question, which I urge you reader to answer for yourself, is it a problem? Or is it the next step in the evolution of genre as a concept? As Baldwin stated, human instinct is prone to pattern seeking and categorization, so naturally it makes sense for us to want to know exactly what something is in its totality without having to meaningfully

interact with the idea, in our case, the literature in question. Conversely, such specificity can ironically cause a feeling of confusion. At the same time however, specificity is necessary in developing an understanding of topics or in our case narratives. Maybe having such specific niches are useful in identifying possibly triggering content or a setting you already know you don’t like? While it seems confusing, having new verbiage and new titles can be useful in developing deeper levels of understanding for our other humans who might use initially “confusing” titles. With the rise of specificity in relations to human identity no more than ever it can feel confusing to remember it all. Like the books within these microgenres, complex labeled identities help us understand intrinsic aspects of one another without the hard work it takes to break the initial layers of icy unknowing. So for one last time, I ask you, is specific and micro labeling a problem?

Omar Tena History and Physics Majors/Museum Studies and International Relations Minors

a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s . . . A Book?

The book as the 21st century reader knows and experiences is only one iteration in a line of physical records of time and information. Stone tablets carved with Linear B script, papyrus covered in hieroglyphics, and scrolls of Hebrew all precede the familiar bound book, but the evolution of the book has not ended with the cloth cover and sewn spine. As information itself has become more available to different people, it must adapt to different modes of communication and experience. Artists books have risen in popularity in the 20th and 21st century to do just that.

At the most basic level, artists’ books are books that take the form of an artistic medium to present an idea or message. The Smithsonian describes them as “works of art, like paintings or sculptures, but in book form.” They came into the public sphere after World War II, owing their origins to William Blake and postWorld War I avant-garde pamphlets and manifestos. Artists books came to present narratives of one particular moment in time that cannot be explained by words alone, but must have a tangible, interactive form for the “reader” to be able to fully engage with concepts that elude any one particular form. Broadening or possibly resisting how we define books today, artists books present new ways of sharing information and are effective as historical records of time and culture.

The idea of a book being art and art defining itself as a book has experienced some pushback, but as the artists book

It’s

cross boundaries, we find them to be a hybridization of art, literature, sculpture, and graphic design. The main quality that distinguishes artists books are that they are meant to be read not just to engage the intellect, but the senses as well. Some even take things that we are familiar with, known as a found object, and alter it to allow the reader to question their values and preconceptions. For example, the book Mortal Salt: what Lot’s wife would have said (if she wasn’t a pillar of salt) by Daniel R. Smith and Karen Finneyfrock takes the form of a Morton Salt container that many people livingin the United States are sure to recognize. However, instead of listing nutritional facts and information about the product, the artists use the salt imagery to criticize how the story of Lot’s wife and the origin of “sodomy” has fed into a religious distaste for LGBTQ+ marriage and the AIDs crisis.

In addition to the retelling of stories to highlight social issues, artists have also used their books to record histories, be they personal or universal, in a visceral form. Crazy Quilt by Maureen Cummins looks on the outside like a small, unassuming, informational text about quilt patterns or designs. As the reader flips through, however, the book itself unfolds into a 3x3 panel of quilt designs containing or surrounded by quotes of fifteen women concerning mental illness and their experience

in asylums. Cummins uses the beauty and craft of the quilt to create a startling contrast with the horrors of being confined, restricted, and stitched into a system that can so easily manipulate the perception of women’s experiences. Spanning about 100 years, these quotes allow the voices of women to speak about their sufferings years after the fact, allowing them to feel human and to feel close to the reader, even if it is unfortunately too late for the women themselves.

Artists books capture a unique feeling and perception of an event or series of events that, unlike the history textbooks students are used to, do not isolate memory from experience. Memory is living and active in these books rather than distant and passive. They open dialogue for new ways of personally interacting with stories and information to create more meaningful connections between reader, object, subject, and artist. All one must do to glean their meaning is to look beyond the binding and read what is in front of them and to be open to new forms of learning.

Chloe Dionne University Scholar with Art History, Great Texts, and Museum Studies Concentrations

Autobiography Class Activity

Chloe Dionne University Scholar with Art History, Great Texts, and Museum Studies Concentrations

Rise of Book Tok

Books have always been an escape for both avid and casual readers alike. The pages of novels offer a temporary reprieve from reality, transporting readers into whatever world the author has constructed within their literary work. As the modern world and social media has tightened its grasp on people of today, the vast majority of the general public have placed reading on the backburner. However, during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, people turned back to books as a form of entertainment and a way to pass the time during quarantine. The social media platform, TikTok, helped spur the growth of reading during the pandemic. The development of what is known as “BookTok,” a community of reading enthusiasts, has taken the social media platform by storm.

TikTok is a social media feed comprised of short-form videos, meant to be entertaining, witty, and engaging while featuring videos on every topic imaginable. People have taken to TikTok to share their favorite books, give recommendations, and ultimately promote reading literature. The newfound popularity in books has only generated more buzz, with other social media platforms featuring common literature promoted on the “side” of TikTok where book lovers find community. BookTok, because of

the explosion of book promotion, has catapulted authors from obscurity to popularity in the matter of weeks. Colleen Hoover and her Young Adult / Romance novels have reached record sales due to lines from her books being featured on TikTok. When viewers read these lines, they wanted more, and went out and bought the book to read for themselves. The sequel to one of her novels, It Starts With Us, has reached record pre -order numbers, and according to Bookseller.com is predicted to be W.H. Smith’s 2022 Book of the Year, all due to Colleen Hoover’s claim to fame on TikTok. Books that had been published in 2012 reached viral status in 2021 and began selling out. For example, The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller and Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens are two examples of novels whose sales skyrocketed years after their publication due to promotion on TikTok.

A renewed interest in reading due to being stuck in quarantine, the popularity and addictive nature of TikTok, and algorithms within the app working to suggest content both viral and most similar with a viewer’s likes, have transformed the book world within the past two years. The more literary themed content that a viewer interacts with, whether with a like, comment, share, etc., the more videos are catered towards what the viewer enjoys. This generation of book themed TikToks is what has transformed into the greater side of BookTok, so once a viewer interacts with enough literary themed videos, their feed is largely comprised of book suggestion videos, reviews, parodies, and more of the most popular books on the market.

Stigmas often surround social media, claiming that it is a degrading factor to reading; however, the propulsion and popularity of BookTok suggests otherwise. BookTok has boosted the sales of literature tremendously, even persuading people to engage with physical copies again, instead of online options. Bookstores, both local and chain, have begun dedicating special displays to books featured on BookTok and even going so far as to make displays BookTok and genre specific. Society had begun to shift away from literature, due to a multitude of reasons, but people are beginning to pick up books again. I think BookTok is a positive trend as it encourages people to interact more with books. People are more prone to pick up a book in Target that they saw highlighted in a TikTok video, than if they hadn’t previously seen any posts or advertisements about it. I think that the shift towards reading is much to everyone’s benefit, offering an alternate reality to slip into, working to strengthen and broaden vocabulary and literacy, and overall, a healthier alternative to the screen time that controls most of America’s population on the daily. As an avid reader and book enthusiast myself, I see the rise of BookTok as a positive thing. It helped me find new authors to engage with, support the dying world of the paperback novel, and ultimately renewed my love and passion for reading. My wish is that BookTok will continue to promote authors and their creations and reinspire readers around the world to pick up a book and begin reading.

Laine Harper

History Major/Museum Studies Minor

Books and Mental Health

Has a fiction book ever helped you through a difficult time in your life? Maybe an exciting adventure brought you entertainment and escape at a time in your life when you needed it. Or maybe you read a young adult thriller that reflects on the main character’s emotions and relationships that hit close to your heart. Experiences such as these are a great example of fiction books’ impact on us and the comfort they can bring. This is especially true for people struggling with mental illnesses. With awareness of mental health issues growing, and in turn representation of it in fiction, we can explore new relationships between fiction books and mental health. To what extent can reading fiction be used to help people with mental health issues? Does it even help? Why fiction specifically?

Fictional stories have fascinated humans time and time again. Stories are written for many different purposes, but human emotion is a very common thread, even if the characters themselves aren’t human. With much of modern fiction appealing to this, it’s easy to understand why it might be helpful for people with mental illnesses. Fiction coaxes us to put on the shoes of the characters, bringing us to sense their emotions with more and more ease as the story progresses, whether that be the highs or the lows. Studies have shown that there is evidence for the idea that those who read more narrative fiction throughout their lifetime have a good ability to understand how people are thinking.

Immersion in a story in itself can also be beneficial for people with

mental health issues. Being immersed in how the characters are feeling, what they’re experiencing, and the like can prompt meaningful self-reflection. Mental illness is scary and often hard to understand even for the people experiencing it, so this self-reflection can be incredibly helpful and cathartic. This self-reflection can help people sort out confusing emotions as well. Mentally ill people sometimes struggle to notice how what they’re experiencing isn’t something they should be experiencing, or in contrast, feel like a complete outsider, like they’re messed up in some way, or generally very alone in their struggles. Fiction books that handle the topic of mental illness show them that they’re not the only ones experiencing this, and in fact aren’t lesser for it. Seeing characters endure and overcome their struggles can also be an encouraging experience and destigmatize mental illness.

Seeing as reading can be rather accessible compared to other treatments, some professionals use reading creative works as a part of treatment. This is called bibliotherapy, and specifically creative bibliotherapy and therapeutic bibliography tend to use fiction books in their treatment. Bibliotherapy is not a replacement for therapy itself, but it can be a great tool for many.

Although bibliotherapy and reading aren’t for everyone, there is a lot of merit to using fiction to better understand ourselves and the world around us. Regardless of the status of your mental health, the fictional tales weaved by literature is impactful on us all. We’ve all experienced a rough time that was eased by a story. So, why not use research to take it to the next step?

Lanie Varnell Art History Major/Museum Studies Minor

Autobiography

Works Cited

The One Ring That Did Not Always Rule All

Tolkien, J.R.R. The Hobbit; or There and Back Again. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1937

Inventing Film Noir

Miller, Frank. “The Essentials – The Postman Always Rings Twice.” TCM Turner Classic Movies. Accessed December 13, 2022. https:// www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/378/the-postman-always-rings-twice/ #articles-reviews?articleId=191498

Nixon, Rob. “Double Indemnity,” TCM Turner Classic Movies. Accessed December 13, 2022. https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/73500/doubleindemnity/#articles-reviews?articleId=86524

Nixon, Rob. “The Essentials – Mildred Pierce.” TCM Turner Classic Movies. Accessed December 13, 2022. https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/ title/321/mildred-pierce/#articles-reviews?articleId=372703

Little Red Riding Hood

Orenstein, Catherine. Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked: Sex, Morality, and the Evolution of a Fairy Tale. New York: Basic Books, 2002.

The Disneyfying of Fairy Tales

Tearle, Oliver. “A Summary and Analysis of the Rapunzel Fairy Tale.” Interesting Literature, October 17, 2020. https:// interestingliterature.com/2017/06/a-summary-and-analysis-of-therapunzel-fairy-tale/

Classic Retellings

Miller, Madeline. The Song of Achilles. New York: Ecco, 2012.

Changes of Binding of Chinese Books Reflects the Changing Times

Martinique, Edward Geral, “Chinese Traditional Bookbinding: A Study of Its Evolution and Techniques,” Master’s Thesis, University of Chicago, 1972.

Archaeology of Books: The Physical Remains of Classical Literature

Cartwright, Mark. “Libraries in the Ancient World.” Brewminate: A Bold Blend of News and Ideas. Accessed October 25, 2022. https:// brewminate.com/libraries-in-the-ancient-world/ Cartwright, Mark. “Library of Celsus.” World History Encyclopedia. Accessed October 25, 2022. https://www.worldhistory.org/ Library_of_Celsus/

Flood, Alison. “ ‘Spectacular’ Ancient Library Discovered in Germany.” The Guardian. July 31, 2018. https://www.theguardian.com/ books/2018/jul/31/spectacular-ancient-public-library-discovered-ingermany

Geggel, Laura. “Ancient Roman Library Discovered Beneath German City.” August 5, 2018. LiveScience. https:// www.livescience.com/63256-ancient-roman-library-discovered.html

“Library of Celsus in Ephesus.” Turkish Archaeological News. Accessed October 25, 2022. https://turkisharchaeonews.net/object/librarycelsus-ephesus

“Nysa (Turkey) Library.” The Desert Fathers. Accessed October 25, 2022. https://desertfathers.blogspot.com/2012/07/nysaturkeylibrary.html

Raddato, Carole. “The Library of Nysa.” World History Encyclopedia. Accessed October 25, 2022. https://www.worldhistory.org/ image/9930/the-library-of-nysa/#:~:text=The%20library%20of% 20Nysa%2C%20built,Library%20of%20Celsus%20at%20Ephesus

Book Form Through Time

“Biblical Scrolls.” The Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library. Accessed October 27, 2022. https://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/ featured-scrolls?locale=en_US

“Codex.” New World Encyclopedia. Accessed October 27, 2022.

https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/codex

Frank, David. “Unlocking the Secrets of the World’s Most Intriguing Codices.” History Central. Accessed October 27, 2022. https:// www.historycentral.com/BookReviews/Codics.html

Kochetkova, Marina. “Top 10 Most Famous Chinese Paintings.” Daily Art Magazine. Accessed October 27, 2022. https:// www.dailyartmagazine.com/10-chinese-paintings/ “Learn about the Scrolls.” The Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library. Accessed October 27, 2022. https://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/ learn-about-the-scrolls/introduction

How to Make Your Own Book

porsche and coffee, “Perfect Binding: Step-by-Step.” Accessed October 23, 2022. https://youtu.be/KKojHFky150

A Story Untold: The Courtesan Memoirs of Céleste Vénard Chabrillan, Céleste Vénard. Translated by Monique Fleury Nagem. Memoirs of a Courtesan in Nineteenth-Century Paris. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2011. Carmilla: A Forgotten Tale and Exploration of LGBT Characters “Carmilla.” The Project Gutenberg EBook of Carmilla, by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. Accessed November 2, 2022. https://www.gutenberg.org/ files/10007/10007-h/10007-h.htm/.

The Impact of The Social Contract on the French Revolution

Cranston, Maurice. “Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Swiss-Born French Philosopher.” Britannica. Accessed November 7, 2022. https:// www.britannica.com/biography/Jean-Jacques-Rousseau

Humphris, Rachel. “The Relevance of Jean-Jacques Rousseau 300 Years After His Birth.” UNHCR (The UN Refugee Agency). Accessed November 7, 2022. https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/news/ latest/2012/6/4fec23bc6/relevance-jean-jacques-rousseau-300-yearsbirth.html

Roos, David. “7 Ways the Printing Press Changed the World.” History Channel. Accessed November 7, 2022. https://www.history.com/news/ printing-press-renaissance

Seduction of the Well-Meaning: Comic Books and Good Intentions

Abad Santos, Alex. “The insane history of how American paranoia ruined and censored comic books.” Vox. Last modified March 13, 2015. https://www.vox.com/2014/12/15/7326605/comic-book-censorship.

Bettelheim, Bruno. “Seduction of the Innocent. Fredric Wertham.” The Library Quarterly: Information, Community, Policy 25, no. 1 (1955): 129–30. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4304389.

Caywood, Carolyn. “Seduction of the Innocent.” School Library Journal 40, no. 7 (1994): 48. http://ezproxy.baylor.edu/login?url=https:// search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=ehh&AN=9407227534&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Mishler, Anita L. “Seduction of the Innocent.” The Public Opinion Quarterly 19, no. 1 (1955): 115–17. http://www.jstor.org/ stable/2745944.

Tilley, Carol L. "Seducing the Innocent: Fredric Wertham and the falsifications that helped condemn comics." Information & Culture 47, no. 4 (2012): 383-413. Gale Academic OneFile. https://link.gale.com/ apps/doc/A307414930/AONE?u=txshracd2488&sid=bookmarkAONE&xid=c8c21822.

Weisinger, Mort. “How they're cleaning up the comic books: A new code with teeth in it, and a ‘czar’ with full authority to enforce it, point to a big campaign to clean up the comic books.” Better Homes and Gardens 33, no. 3 (1955): 58-59, 254-255, 263. Women’s Magazine Archive I. http://ezproxy.baylor.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/ magazines/how-theyre-cleaning-up-comic-books/ docview/1715356102/se-2.