11. Information in Plain Sight: The Formation of the Public Graphosphere

Franklin provides survey of the growth of the public ‘graphosphere’ in Russia from the late fifteenth century to the mid-nineteenth. The ‘graphosphere’ is the space of the visible word, the sum of the places where words are to be seen. Franklin considers when, how, and to some extent why a public ‘graphosphere’ emerged in Russia, the types of institutions and activities that facilitated or shaped (or inhibited) its formation, and the functions that its various components were intended to serve, as well as some of the ways in which it was perceived. His research varies from tombstones and inscribed monuments to shop signs, and considers some of the main institutional impulses for its various stages of development.