Paul C. Gutjahr

I teach English, American Studies, and Religious Studies at Indiana University. At its core, my work has centered on the issue of influence. My primary research area concerns the historical production, dissemination and reception of various printed texts (a field known as History of the Book studies), an interest motivated most fundamentally by a desire to understand how printed material functions as an agent of influence. How do books and other forms of printed material persuade, threaten, cajole, incite to action? How does reading material help shape ideas which drive individual and corporate behavior? In a more focused way, I am interested in the intersection between print and religion. Much of my own work deals with the power of print in various religious contexts.