The 2021 Charles W. Mann Lecture in the Book Arts: The Regenerative Text: Ecologies of Printed Matter

What does an ecological approach to printing history entail? Printed materials pass through many environments and each must be mapped, from the raw materials that comprise them, to the places where they are preserved. Rather than analysing texts as remnants of human culture and expression, they can be seen as material witnesses of the extent to which humanity is embedded in the natural world. This lecture focuses on print as “regenerative,” a recent term that has emerged to address climate breakdown. In highlighting printed works throughout history that are co-evolutionary, the materiality of information becomes an important platform for raising ecological awareness, teaching about histories of exploitation that must not be repeated, and providing space to imagine new possibilities.

Originally scheduled to visit Penn State in April 2020 before being canceled due to the pandemic, Brooke Palmieri was gracious enough to join us a year later to offer a virtual Mann lecture, which we’re excited to offer include here with the Earth Archives exhibition.