The Book Lab

Paul's academic interests tend to be eclectic. His training is in American Studies, so he favors approaches which are highly interdisciplinary in nature. His specialized field of research is the history of publishing and literacy in the United States. More commonly, he works in the area which has come to be called history of the book studies, and he works primarily in the North American context. He is interested in how different forms of writing influence a vast array of cultural practices from religious preaching to proper etiquette at meals. He has written extensively on the production of the English Bible in America. He has also edited a collection of essays on typography and textual interpretation and an anthology on nineteenth century American popular literature.