Revolutions in Reading

We used to read using scrolls, then switched to flipping pages in books. Now, many of us have returned to scrolls—or at least, scrolling.​ And beyond how we read, there's the question of what we read and how we find it: we use search engines, algorithms, and, increasingly, A.I. to navigate oceans of digital content.

The last few decades have brought immense changes to how we read, but are just a small part of what has taken place over thousands of years. At this Think and Drink event, explore how inventions like the printing press, the book, and the internet have changed how and what we read. What lessons can we draw from the long history of reading technology, and how can they help us understand the rapid and disorienting changes happening today?

Presented by Geoffrey Turnovsky, an associate professor in French Studies and the co-director of the Textual Studies Program at the University of Washington.

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Host or Publisher Humanities Washington