Anthony is rarely pictured without a book in his hand; there is an illustration of him with a book in the Isenheim altarpiece (pictures are available in the books on reserve: The Devil at Isenheim, The Isenheim Altarpiece, and several other books). In the Life of Saint Anthony (on reserve under the name of its author, Athanasius) books play a significant role. However, in order to understand the importance of books, it is necessary first to think of "the world of the book," and the relation of the physical object of the book to the technologies of speech and writing and the use of each as a means of spreading the word.
Consult works in the Book module's narrative or texts by Jack Goody (Literacy in Traditional Societies and The Logic of Writing and the Organization of Society -- both on reserve), to get started on reading about the place of the book in history. Using the Life of St. Anthony, you can develop a good paper topic by tracing all the references to speech and writing there and by sorting them into categories. One of most important categories in this kind of analysis (called "dicourse analysis") is the power relations between the people involved: who is speaking to whom in each situation? Look at the section where St. Anthony visits St. Paul the Hermit; or think of the conversations ("conferences") between Anthony and his followers. Is everything between them spoken? Are books mentioned? What about writing? What does Anthony recommend that his followers write down, and why?
(note: the Life of Anthony is quite long. You'll want to skim through to find the parts relevant for your paper)
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