Martin Luther, the Reformation, and the Creation of a Media Phenomenon
The Protestant Reformation was one of the critical events in the formation of western society. It is well known that the printed book – then a relatively recent invention – played a critical role in spreading Luther’s teaching, and creating a popular movement. But how was Luther, a middle-aged professor rather set in his ways, able to seize this opportunity? How did he understand print, and how did he devise a writing style that struck a chord with a public, most of whom would not have owned books at all before they bought his? Here Andrew Pettegree exposes how Luther, assisted by one of Germany’s great printers, Lucas Cranach, changed the face of the book, and in the process created a new form of communication. It was this combination of man, moment and new technology that gave the Reformation its potency, and ensured its success.
Join us at The University Club in Boston on Wednesday, March 30 at 6pm for this fascinating opportunity to hear Andrew Pettegree talk about his new book, Brand Luther, beginning with a reception and ending with a Q&A session & book signing.
Following the lecture there will also be a dinner, taking place at The University Club, with Professor Pettegree. Tickets are also available here; please note that there are a very limited number available so sign up early if you're interested in attending.
The price of the tickets to attend the dinner with Professor Pettegree will go towards covering costs; in the event of any profit, proceeds will be donated to support the School of History at the University of St Andrews. Tickets are not tax deductible.
Andrew Pettegree is Professor of Modern History at the University of St Andrews, and founding Director of the St Andrews Reformation Studies Institute. He is the author of a number of books on the Reformation and, more recently, the history of communication, including Reformation and the Culture of Communication (Cambridge, 2005), The Book in the Renaissance (2010) and The Invention of News (2014). In 2015 The Invention of News won the Goldsmith Prize of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. His latest book, Brand Luther.1517, Printing and the Making of the Reformation, is published on 27 October by Penguin USA. He is now engaged on a study of advertising in seventeenth-century Dutch newspapers.