Do Books Still Matter? The Future of Reading In A Digital World (afternoon class)
April 14,2012

 

Professor Francine Prose / Bard

 

At this cultural moment, when we are being perpetually bombarded by the seductions of electronic media, social networking and mass entertainment—from Twitter to TV, from films to Facebook—why are we still reading books? Why does literature seem not only relevant, but crucially important, and even, for some of us, a matter for life and death? Why does the great literature of the past continue not only to engage us but to change our lives, and how do contemporary writers address and transcend the chatter of the competing voices around us? What books should we read  to remind ourselves of the things that books—and nothing else—can provide? How do certain aspects of the reading and writing experience—research, browsing, the growth and health of our imaginations, of our compassion, our sense of language, our humanity—remain superior to what can be done and achieved on line and in cyberspace? 

   

We will look at these questions from the point of view of the general reader and of the writer, of those whose love for books has remained unaffected by more recent sources of pleasure, wisdom, and entertainment, of those who worry about the future of literature, and of those while feel confident about its chances of survival.

Graduate Center - 365 Fifth Avenue - NYC
365 Fifth Avenue NYC
(35th and Fifth)
New York, NY 10016
April 14,2012
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM