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 2024 Schedule
September 13 Viewing and discussion of Southeast Asian manuscripts, hosted by Fe Susan Go (Head, Southeast Asia Division, U-M Library)
October 4 Reading and discussion: Recent developments in manuscript studies (Readings TBA)
November 8 Presentation and discussion: "Beyond Leaves: Cultivating Knowledge in Books of Hours (1470–1520)'," talk by Clara Marie Kahn (Max Planck Institute)
December 6 Viewing and discussion of Islamic manuscripts, hosted by Evyn Kropf (Curator, Islamic Manuscripts Collection, U-M Library)
Please contact the group organizers for location.
