Presentation

Abstract

The section dedicated to the History of Books and Publishing seeks to promote works that follow the circuit of production, circulation and diffusion of books and other printed materials, as unavoidable stages for the study of the production and diffusion of ideas, intellectual trajectories and the links between the world of ideas and politics. With this interest, the section seeks to contribute to studies on books and publishing, a disciplinary field that draws on disciplines such as history, sociology, anthropology, librarianship and literary studies. In this opportunity, we present four papers that seek to make empirical and conceptual contributions to this field of studies.
The paper that opens the section is a translation of the article by historian Robert Darnton, entitled "La France, ton café fout le camp! De l'histoire du livre à l'histoire de la communication", published in 1993 by the journal Actes de la recherche en sciences sociales. Faithful to Darnton's journey in the configuration of historiographical studies on books and publishing, the work constitutes a contribution to the conceptual and methodological discussion of the discipline, as well as an invaluable archival work carried out in Paris. The article presents a journey through the discussions promoted by the so-called "material turn" in intellectual history, from the classical history of ideas to the studies that focus on mediations, mediators and materials involved in the dissemination of ideas. In that spirit, Darnton engages in the discussion about the cultural and intellectual origins of the French Revolution and studies the effect that subway, clandestine and marginal agents, practices and printed materials promoted in the public sphere, provoking a progressive erosion of the regime that would fall in 1789. The sociohistorical study of the communication circuit that Robert Darnton configures and details shows how the book differs from other media by producing a "book effect" that has differential logics on public debate. This work is illuminating of a period, but at the same time it is a productive input to think about the place of the book in the current public debate, together with other supports and platforms such as the media and social networks. The translation of the text was made by Margarita Merbilhaá for discussion at the Intellectual History Seminar of CeDInCI. Years later, with a revised version by the translator, and thanks to the support of the French journal and the author, we obtained permission for its publication in these pages.
Secondly, we present the article by Luccas Eduardo Maldonado, who reviews the works dedicated to the history of the left-wing book in Brazil elaborated by intellectuals Lincoln Secco and Edgard Carone. Maldonado recovers the works of Robert Darnton on the publishing circuit and book production as a starting point to situate the contributions of Secco and Carone in the history of the book in Brazil. The work of these intellectuals and researchers constitutes an invaluable contribution to the studies on the left in that country, through the printed productions, so relevant to think the political and intellectual practice and intervention.
Sol Anahí Viñolo's work constitutes a contribution to the study of the links between publishing and politics from an anthropological and ethnographic perspective. Focusing on a current period, the author studies the place of printed culture in two political parties in Argentina: the Unión Cívica Radical and the Partido Obrero. The ethnographer delves into the bowels of the groups to investigate the place of libraries, editions and party press, artifacts that coexist and dialogue with other media and platforms more focused on the digital and the image than on the printed object. The article was proposed to the magazine prior to Viñolo's tragic death in a traffic accident. It is presented in a revised version, edited and prefaced by its editor, anthropologist Gustavo Sorá.
Finally, Javier Planas brings us an interview and conversation on the history of libraries in Latin America, conducted with two other exponents of this area so relevant for book and publishing studies, as well as for studies on archives and libraries linked to the CeDInCI world: Alejandro Parada and Carlos Aguirre. The text presented is the result of the transcription and edition of an event that was part of a series of talks organized by the Department of Distance Librarianship and the Library System of the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina, Paraná, on July 15, 2021. The text reviews studies on libraries in the world and particularly in the region, the difficulties for the periodization of different periods, the key moments to approach the history of libraries, as well as the links of libraries with popular culture and the intellectual world, among other topics. 

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