Iconic Books and Texts - Paperback

by James W. Watts (Editor)

Images of books appear in art, advertising and commercial logos to symbolize learning, knowledge and wisdom. In religious and secular rituals around the globe, people carry, show, wave, touch and kiss books and other texts, as well as read them. Such images and rituals utilize the iconic dimension of texts. This volume is the first comprehensive survey of iconic books and texts. It traces their development and influence from ancient to modern times and compares their roles in multiple cultures and religious traditions. The twenty-two essays presented here are original, cutting-edge contributions to this new academic field, and will appeal to students and scholars across the study of religions, literature, book history, archives and libraries.

Author Biography

James W. Watts is Professor of Religion at Syracuse University and the author of Ritual and Rhetoric in Leviticus: From Sacrifice to Scripture (Cambridge University Press, 2007).