New Monograph Series Announcement
Cultures of Reading in the Ancient Mediterranean
Oxford University Press
The “Cultures of Reading in the Ancient Mediterranean” monograph series is focused both narrowly and broadly. In terms of topic, it will narrowly focus upon ancient book cultures, from (generally) sociological perspectives and media criticism. In terms of chronology and academic disciplines, it will broadly focus upon cultures from the historical era of ancient Greece up through late antiquity and dwell at the intersection of Classics, papyrology, Jewish Studies, early Christian studies, and ancient media culture. In light of its interdisciplinary focus, however, it will also include the capacity to include studies on other periods and areas of study (such as the ancient Near East or early Islam) that are central to the theme of the series.
The series will feature single-author and multi-author monographs of typically 60,000 to 80,000 words. We envision a limited program of ten or twelve studies for the monograph series that will be published over the next ten years. The geographical focus is on the cultures around the Mediterranean basin and the chronological focus will range from the Greek archaic period through late antiquity. With a topical focus on ancient book and media culture, this series will ride a surge in interest in these topics across various disciplines in the Humanities. Building upon works in the 1980s and 1990s in ancient literacy (William Harris, Rosalind Thomas) and sociological approaches to textual cultures (Brian Stock, Brian Street, Ruth Finnegan), among others, for the past two decades scholars across Classical Studies, Jewish Studies, and early Christian studies in particular have carved out an interdisciplinary and overlapping discourse related to ancient book cultures. It is our intention that “Cultures of Reading in the Ancient Mediterranean” be the premier publication venue for the next wave of studies in this productive interdisciplinary space.
Co-editors:
William A. Johnson, Duke University
Chris Keith, St Mary’s University, Twickenham, London
Kindly contact the editors if you have a project to propose for inclusion.