Learning from rare books

Joanna Tibbetts, a fourth-year English student, carefully looks through a 16th century book on herbs and plants in the Brock Archives and Special Collection. Tibbetts was comparing the physical book with an online digitized copy for clues about the book’s past uses and what particular reading practices it fostered. Students in ENGL 4P70 "Reading a Renaissance Woman" have been learning about the author and patron of literature Lady Anne Clifford (1590-1676) from Leah Knight, Associate Professor of English. Examining rare books from Brock's Archives and Special Collections gives students insight into how early modern readers such as Clifford experienced books and reading.