Disciplinary Duality: The Contested Terrain of Book Studies

Book Studies is an emerging field, which encompasses Book History and Book Arts. Because of this duality it is not always clear whether it is a free-standing discipline or merely an interdisciplinary academic program. This article attempts to investigates its disciplinary identity through an in-depth analysis of Book Studies' history, discursive field, major stakeholders, and scholarly communications. In addition, the article identifies and explores a few major academic programs in Book Studies in the United States and abroad. Based on the evidence gathered from the syllabi of the academic programs and the scholarly communication of the participants, some of the implications of the article are: the discursive field of Book Studies is developing around two very different centers, Book History and Book Arts; Book Studies’ acquired dual disciplinary identity is not a “birth defect” but rather a goal of including sociocultural, historic and aesthetic aspects of the book. The potential future of Book Studies as a field is also discussed.