Throughout the entirety of my academia, I have never once considered a bibliography to be more than a “work cited” section at the end of a text. To me, it was always just a way to grant credibility for liability reasons and in order to maintain academic integrity. A bibliography expands far past a way to avoid plagiarism. As The Bibliographical Society of America explains, there is a difference between the words bibliographic and bibliographic. Bibliographic being a citational record and bibliographical referring to the study of the physical features of the material printed texts (a.k.a. the bookishness of texts).
When thinking about texts from a bibliographical perspective I immediately thought of the feelings and emotions that occurred when I was in the presence of the various texts in Special Collections. Although I was unable to read or understand any of the content on the pages, I was able to comprehend the history, craftsmanship, and purpose of the books simply by observing the physical characteristics in the paper, binding, cover, etc. The textures, designs, and structures of these texts revealed stories beyond their written content, highlighting that meaning can be derived not only from what is written but also from how it is materially presented and preserved.
The further reading section portrays the evolving discourse about bibliographical studies. Lisa Maruca and Kate Ozment explain the intersection between critical theory and bibliographical studies as a critical bibliography. Maruca and Ozment (2022) write “critical bibliography explores how critical theories can (re)shape our histories of the book and bookish objects and in turn how bibliography can be used as a tool to resist oppression.” For example, cheap mass production of printed texts accelerated the spread of hegemonic beliefs by making certain ideologies widely accessible while excluding others. The printing press not only expedited the production of texts but also lowered their cost, making the spread and consumption of oppressive ideas much faster. As someone who loves to know the “why” behind most things, I am eager to take this new approach to Special Collections this week as we also begin to start our midterm project. I will continue to ask myself: What historical occurrences shaped this text? How might the material qualities of the book itself reflect systems of power or resistance? How can I use a critical bibliographical lens to uncover stories that may not be visible in the written content alone?
Wonderful, wonderful. So glad to see you learning about how books matter in the lineage of bibliographies and how bibliographies can be read as culturally-created objects themselves!
Hi Micaela. Before this class, I also thought that a bibliography was nothing more than a list created to give credibility at the end of a written work. Now knowing the difference between what is bibliographic and bibliographical, I have a greater appreciation that our class is able to spend half of our time in Special Collections. While I always love visting Special Collections out of curiosity, as scholars, I don’t think our class would be possible without this resource. By interacting with these objects, we have been able to continuously undo our orientations and expectations of what is bibliographic to welcome close reading of these books’ materiality and grow a bibliographical perspective. I think you pose great questions at the end of your post as we interact with these objects.
Hi Micaela, I also thought that a bibliography was just a set of citations that would give the authors credit for their work, but after this week’s reading, all I can say is that it is way more than that and I can’t believe it’s not being talked about enough. I honestly hope more people are taught about the real importance and meaning behind a bibliography because it is beyond important, not just in the world of literature, but for our society as a whole.