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.