From Cover to Cover: Reading Readers
Hacettepe UniversityDepartment of American Culture and Literature30th Anniversary ConferenceAnkara, TurkeyNovember 7 – 9, 2012
Reading has had numerous meanings for different people at different times and places. From reading an animal’s tracks, or a street sign, to reading Derrida, the act of reading has referred to a wide range of activities. People have read for practical purposes (for information, for knowledge, or for material gain), for holy ends (The Quran said “Read in the name of your Lord”), for political and social reasons (“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free,” said Frederick Douglass), for entertainment, etc. In the age of computers, cell phones, and the Internet, the traditional notions about the significance of reading, its function, and value seem to be challenged in various ways. Our conference aims to take a fresh look at the good old practice of reading in all its denotations and connotations from all possible quarters and perspectives provided that papers relate to the American context.
