E-book Proposal

Since we can't actually predict the future of print, I think examining the advantages and limitations of a variety of formats will give us insight into where the technology is going. What I'm envisioning for our final project centers on this idea of formats. There are positives and negatives to print, but they differ between formats. For example, the advantages and limitations of a print book vs. a digital book are not the same advantages and limitations of a printed vs. digital newspaper--or a scholarly journal, or printed music.

Therefore I suggest we examine five formats and consider what we gain and what we lose in a shift to digital (these can include the format's history, economic factors, cultural/social status, technological implications). The first chapter would set up the technologies that led to print (not sure how specific we should go--include paper?, include incunabula?, just start with Gutenberg?, start much later?) and the resulting cultural and/or economic shifts. The next chapters would be about the book, journals (scholarly and popular), magazines and other pop-periodicals (this would be a good place to discuss blogs), newspapers, and then other formats that are not words on paper--film, music, art.