Course Information
Instructor: Daniela Bleichmar
Location: Los Angeles / UCLA
Mode: In-person
Dates: August 11–15, 2025
Tuition: $1200.00
Course Description
This course examines the role of images in the production and circulation of scientific knowledge in early modern European books, from the rise of printing to about 1800. It is a highly empirical seminar, based above all on our looking together and discussing a large number of books from the period. We will compare examples of books across graphic-rich genres such as natural history, anatomy, cartography, technology, and astronomy. Through specific examples, we will discuss topics including the role of images in the production and circulation of knowledge; relationships between authors, artists, and printers; the various types of work that images performed, including evidentiary, emblematic, allegorical, illustrative, and ornamental; images in printed versus manuscript books; the relationships between images, texts, and objects; the artistic and artisanal practices, materials, and techniques used to create images; the spaces and people involved in making and interpreting images; and trust and mistrust of images in books. Normally, the course is organized to maximize our time looking at original materials held in rare books collections in Los Angeles (such as the Huntington Library, the Getty Research Institute, USC Special Collections, UCLA Special Collections, etc.).
Course Information
Instructor: Jeremy Abbott
Location: Los Angeles / UCLA
Mode: In-person
Dates: August 11–15, 2025
Tuition: $1200.00
Course Description
This course provides an introduction to the historical and legal origins of copyright in the United States (along with some relevant international contributions), how that history has influenced library, archive, and special collections practice, and what copyright means now. Through a mix of case law, case studies, and guest speakers, participants will learn the theory and day-to-day application of copyright, share best practices, and collectively try to wrap our heads around its many contradictions. No law degrees or previous exposure to copyright beyond recognizing this “©” are necessary.
Course Information
Instructor: Magalí Rabasa
Location: UCLA / Los Angeles
Mode: In-person
Dates: August 11–15, 2025
Tuition: $1200
Course Description
Workshop Abstract: This course explores the ways that the object of the print book has been transformed, politically and materially, in the context of radical social movements in the twenty-first century in Latin America. Through examination of interplay between the political concepts proposed by the movements and the materiality of the books they produce, this course will consider the ways that the print book acts as a networking agent, facilitating and expanding transnational dialogues in the Americas. This course will explore the ways that radical, independent, and underground publishing projects propose alternative practices and ethics that question and destabilize historical power structures endemic to publishing and knowledge production.
Working from the concept of the “book in movement” as a way of accounting for the dynamic material and political life of this cultural object, we will examine informal archives of books produced by radical publishers in Latin America, as well as locally-housed collections in Los Angeles. The course may also include field trips to radical community libraries and bookstores and presentations (via Zoom) by members of publishing collectives in Latin America. Over the course of the week, we will focus on the different stages in the life of the book, as a means of considering how the various aspects of the production and circulation of print books are taken up as sites of political, social, and economic experimentation and intervention. Particular areas of focus include: collective practices of authorship, experimental printing and bookbinding, alternative approaches to intellectual property, and non-capitalist/anti-capitalist marketing and distribution.
Requirements
- A brief set of required readings will be circulated in advance of the course.
- Participants are encouraged to bring a laptop or tablet for use during the course.
- While many of the materials we will examine are in Spanish, knowledge of Spanish is not required for this course.
Are you an established expert in rare books, special collections, and print culture? Or perhaps an expert in library and information studies, critical librarianship, or data studies? CalRBS encourages course proposals on innovative topics that build on its vast array of courses focusing on rare books, special collections, and manuscripts.
CalRBS is especially interested in the following areas as they relate to rare books, galleries, libraries, archives, and museums:
- Grant Writing
- Advanced Pedagogy and Teaching
- Remote Course Programming and Design
- Space Planning and Innovative Alternatives
- Social Media
- Programming for ESL and Bilingual Constituencies
- Data Preservation
- Digital Knowledge Repatriation
- Crisis Recordkeeping
- Public Libraries and At-Risk Populations
- Sustainability Studies
- Climate Change Impacts on the Profession
- Grassroots Communities
- Archives Organization
- Reappraisal and De-Accessioning
- Digital Methods for Research and Scholarship
- Data Activism
- Collection Development for Specific Communities
- Ink and Papermaking (Maker studio and/or history of)
- Children and Young Adults and Public Libraries
- Primary sources in K-12 Education
- History, production, and publishing of children’s books
- Material, Collections, and Institutions through Indigenous and First Nation lenses
- International Librarianship, Bibliography, and Rare Books
- Disability Studies
- Feminist and Gender Studies
- Postcolonial, Decolonial and Critical Development studies
- History of small presses and independent publishing in Los Angeles/California/U.S. and beyond
- Gastronomy, cook books, and food culture
- Topic and survey courses that focus on undergraduate and high school students
Courses that focus on critical analysis, diversity, ethics, and promote justice-oriented approaches are especially welcome. In addition to these areas, we are looking for courses that fill identified gaps in the current CalRBS curriculum. While new courses can extend beyond the domain of rare books and special collections, they should contextualize rare books within a larger library and information economy, emphasizing the importance of book and print culture throughout the discipline of Information Studies.