Book Advertising in Britain and Japan: Its Discursive Role, Evolution and Impact

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K17679
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Literature in English; Area studies
• Research Institution: Japan Women's University
• Principal Investigator: ROBINSON Peter 日本女子大学, 文学部, 准教授 (30512355)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: Book Advertising / Print culture / Publishers / Book History

Outline of Final Research Achievements

There were 3 main research achievements of this project (i) the establishment of a website BKAS.org which promotes research on all aspects of Book Advertising including BKAS Essay Shorts which provides an opportunity for scholars to publish short research papers, work in progress and so on. The grant holder contributed several research papers to this and edited a number of other contributions, including on advertising for the Institute of Pacific Relations (IPR) and the Hokuseido Press, (ii) hosting several workshops and in March, 2023 an online symposium, (iii) a database of book advertising images was launched. Interaction with a range of historians over the grant period raised the profile of book advertising as a field of study. As a result of this, several future projects are planned including collaborative exploitation of the archives held by the Cambridge University Press. The website will continue to enhance the study of book advertising and its impact on society.

Free Research Field

Print History

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究プロジェクトの成果のひとつは、様々な書籍広告のオープンアクセスデータベースを作成したことであり、これは現在も定期的に追加されている。書籍広告は、通常、読後すぐに破棄されるため、本データベースは研究者や一般読者にとっての貴重な資料保存庫となる。BKAS.orgのウェブサイトに研究者の論文が掲載され、ビデオプレゼンテーションによって書籍広告が寄与しうる領域とその重要性に対する理解が広がれば、読者は（商業的に、イデオロギー的に、そして美的に）書籍広告が及ぼす力をよりよく認識することができ、結果的に彼らが実際に読む書籍への理解を深めることに役立つのである。