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The Manuscript Studies Interest Group brings together faculty, graduate students, librarians/curators, fellows/visiting scholars, and anyone else at U-M interested in manuscript studies or engaged in research on manuscripts. Manuscript cultures are central to premodern societies. Different manuscript formats and material substrates connect texts, images, languages, reading practices, and ritual performances, which in a university setting are often split across multiple departments and fields. Having this broad framework will enable the interest group to explore collaboration across disciplines and facilitate research among different manuscript traditions through an object-centered approach.
In monthly meetings during the Fall and Winter terms, participants will present on current research interests as well as give more general overviews of particular manuscript cultures for informal discussion and exchange. They will also occasionally discuss key readings which have shaped manuscript studies in specific areas or in broader ways. In addition, the interest group hopes to be able to explore manuscript collections in person together, both in and around Ann Arbor as well as further afield. We hope to invite an external speaker once a year to connect the interest group with scholars beyond U-M.
Organized by Tina Bawden (History of Art) and Trent Walker (Asian Languages & Cultures)
Fall 2025 Schedule
- September 26 - Presentation and discussion: Puzzling objects
- October 17 - Sharing best practice: How to search for and find manuscripts
- November 14 - Reading discussion
- December 5 - Viewing and discussion of Latin and Greek manuscripts, hosted by Pablo Alvarez (Curator, Special Collections, U-M Library)
Please contact the group organizers for location.
