MTSU Book and Printing Arts and History

MALA 6000 is a foundational course for MTSU’s Master’s of Arts in Liberal Arts. This semester, the seminar was organized on the theme of “Experience.” For the Art History block, which was taught by Laura Cochrane, the students got to handle and explore the rare books and other materials in the Department of Art and Design’s Teaching and Historical Collections.

Students spent a portion of the first meeting exploring the collection and identifying materials to research further. The materials in the collection include a array of books, prints, and manuscript materials from the eighteenth to the nineteenth centuries.

During the second class meeting, the students practiced identifying different types of printed materials. They were asked to use what they had learned to recognize whether a print was a relief wood block, an etching or engraving, a lithograph, or a screen print. And they also used their knowledge to identify the time period in which the print was likely made.

Upcoming blog posts will feature the research done by the students for the class assignment.