The Hidden History of South Africa's Book and Reading Cultures Contributor(s): Dick, Archie L. (Author) |
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ISBN: 1442615923 ISBN-13: 9781442615922 Publisher: University of Toronto Press OUR PRICE: $37.00 Product Type: Paperback Published: March 2013 |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Literary Criticism | Books & Reading - Social Science |
Dewey: 028.9 |
Series: Studies in Book and Print Culture |
Physical Information: 0.9" H x 6" W x 8.9" (0.85 lbs) 216 pages |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: The Hidden History of South Africa's Book and Reading Cultures shows how the common practice of reading can illuminate the social and political history of a culture. This ground-breaking study reveals resistance strategies in the reading and writing practices of South Africans; strategies that have been hidden until now for political reasons relating to the country's liberation struggles. By looking to records from a slave lodge, women's associations, army education units, universities, courts, libraries, prison departments, and political groups, Archie Dick exposes the key works of fiction and non-fiction, magazines, and newspapers that were read and discussed by political activists and prisoners. Uncovering the book and library schemes that elites used to regulate reading, Dick exposes incidences of intellectual fraud, book theft, censorship, and book burning. Through this innovative methodology, Dick aptly shows how South African readers used reading and books to resist unjust regimes and build community across South Africa's class and racial barriers. |
Contributor Bio(s): Dick, Archie L.: - Archie L. Dick is a professor in the Department of Information Science at the University of Pretoria. |