Book matters : the changing nature of literacy / Alan Sica.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sica, Alan, 1949- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Books and reading--History.

Books and reading.

History.

Intellectual life--History.

Intellectual life.

Learning and scholarship--History.

Learning and scholarship.

Scholarly publishing--History.

Scholarly publishing.

Criticism--History.

Criticism.

Social sciences--History.

Social sciences.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

274 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New Brunswick, New Jersey : Transaction Publishers, [2016]

Summary:

Does anyone still read long and complex works, either from the past or the present? Is the role of a professional reader and reviewer of manuscripts still relevant? Book Matters closely analyzes these questions and others. Alan Sica surmises that the concentration span required for studying and discussing complex texts has slipped away, as undergraduate classes are becoming inundated by shorter, easier-to-teach scholarly and literary works. In an engaging style, he gives readers succinct analyses of books and ideas that once held the interest of millions of discerning readers. Book Matters is not a nostalgic cry for lost ideas, but instead a stark reminder of just how aware and analytically illuminating certain scholars were prior to the Internet, and how endangered the book is in this era of pixelated communication. Book jacket.

Contents:

Part 1 The Art of Reading and Reviewing

1 Speaking One's Mind 27

Being Unafraid 27

Nice Nellyism Triumphant 30

"Teasing Out" the "Richly Embedded Nuance" 38

Overseeing a Book Review Journal 41

2 For the (Printed) Book 47

Defining the Academic Library 47

Saving the Scholarly Book 50

Reviewing Books Online 54

Real Ink on Real Paper 58

Globalized Book Publishing 61

3 Expressing Oneself 65

A New Categorical Imperative 65

Friends and Acquaintances 66

Pigeonholes of Content 68

Another Note about Categories 70

Behind the Scenes: What and Who Counts 70

Looking Back to Understand the Future 73

Part 2 Past Masters Reconsidered

4 Origin of the Public Sphere: Addison and Steele 79

5 The Masses Meet Social Science: Everyman and The Modern Library 89

6 Noble Muckraking / David Graham Phillips Phillips, David Graham 103

7 Integrated Scholarship / Booker T. Washington Washington, Booker T., Robert E. Park Park, Robert E., W. E. B. Du Bois Bois, W. E. B. Du 111

8 The Textbook that Codified a School / Robert Park Park, Robert, Ernest Burgess Burgess, Ernest 127

9 The Maddening University / Upton Sinclair Sinclair, Upton, Ben Ginsberg Ginsberg, Ben 133

10 The Journalist as Social Scientist / Walter Lippmann Lippmann, Walter 139

11 Facing the Irrational Fearlessly / Vilfredo Pareto Pareto, Vilfredo 145

12 The Necessary Big Picture / Lewis Mumford Mumford, Lewis 155

13 Unsurpassable Greatness / Max Weber Weber, Max 171

14 Founding Feminism for Intellectuals / Simone de Beauvoir Beauvoir, Simone de 179

15 Micro Meets Macro / Hans Gerth Gerth, Hans, C. Wright Mills Mills, C. Wright 193

16 Sociological Psychiatry / Harry Stack Sullivan Sullivan, Harry Stack 203

17 Postwar America Defined Again / Max Lerner Lerner, Max 211

18 When Theory Tipped the Scales: Talcott Parsons and Associates 221

19 "Living Theory"?: A Pedagogical Debate 231

20 Virtuoso Reviewing Today: Andrew Abbott 239.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Sica, Alan, 1949- Book matters

ISBN:

9781412864329

1412864321

9781412865029

1412865026

OCLC:

952370092