Since the late twentieth century, manuscript studies (or: manuscriptology) have become increasingly popular in the humanities. Stimulated by developments in philology (e.g. ‘New Philology’), codicology, art history and other disciplines, the field has diversified and by now includes many subjects not only from the humanities but also from the natural sciences and computer science. Up to the present day, there is still no consensus on the field’s scope and basic terminology.
The seminar I shall deliver as a visiting fellow of the MemoryLab of the Department of History and Culture (DISCI) at the University of Bologna will present an introduction to general and comparative manuscript studies, at the same time discussing manuscripts’ role in informing and mediating memory. The lectures are based on my experience at the University of Hamburg’s Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC) and will present a personal synthesis of research conducted there. Following an introduction to the basic concepts of general manuscript studies, examples mainly from Asian and African manuscript cultures will be discussed, with a focus on material features. The assumption that manuscripts, and by extension writing in general, mainly served the purpose of transmitting texts, thus co-creating and stabilizing the ‘cultural memory’, will be put in perspective by examining various functions of manuscripts and the place of written artefacts in social or collective memory.
The seminar consists in four sessions of two hours each. Each session will begin with a lecture on pertinent issues, followed by a second part that will serve to discuss one to three texts which will be distributed in advance and should be read by the participants. For tuning in to the topic, I recommend Malachi Beit-Arié, Hebrew Manuscripts of East and West: Towards a comparative codicology (The Panizzi Lectures 1992), The British Library 1993. Additional references will be provided during the sessions.
Programme
- 12th November, 17.00-19.00h - Taking the written artefact as starting point: Basic concepts of manuscript studies
- 13th November, 17.00-19.00h - Producing manuscripts: The meaning of materials
- 14th November, 17.00-19.00h - Distinguishing functions of manuscripts: Beyond modern textual scholarship
- 15th November, 17.00-19.00h - Assessing the role of manuscripts in shaping collective memory; case study: East Asian calligraphy and modern authors’ autographs