Written, Painted, and Inscribed by Hand: Past, Present and Future of Manuscript Studies in Toronto

Jackman Humanities Institute Colloquium April 9th, 2021

Online event

Schedule and registration link: https://humanities.utoronto.ca/events/written-painted-and-inscribed-hand-past-present-and-future-manuscript-studies-toronto

For the past three years, the Jackman Humanities Institute Working Group “Bridging Disciplines in Manuscript Studies” has convened as a place for students and faculty throughout the University of Toronto to share expertise, resources, and pedagogies that centre on the manuscript. In order to celebrate the culmination of this cross-disciplinary effort, our group invites you to participate in a spring colloquium Written, Painted, and Inscribed by Hand: Past, Present, and Future of Manuscript Studies in Toronto and build lasting, fruitful connections.

Does your research involve the analysis of inscribed objects, their producers, or users in some form? If so, please consider how manuscript studies, as an analytical orientation, might inform your scholarship and submit a proposal to this colloquium.

For many, manuscript studies has its origins in the study of Latin manuscripts produced during the so-called Middle Ages. More recently, however, the term and its practice have come to embrace the study of handwritten text-objects from numerous historical periods, diverse linguistic traditions, and varied geographic regions. Broadly speaking, manuscript studies encompasses a variety of subdisciplines including paleography (the study of handwriting), codicology (the study of the construction of physical books), visual analysis, diplomatics, textual editing, and more. The handwritten objects that these disciplines focus on can include parchment codices, papyrus rolls, palm leaves, potsherds, fragments, loose leaves, or assemblages. Through all these approaches, manuscript studies seeks to understand the historical production and societal role of objects inscribed by hand.

We are committed to promoting manuscript studies in its broadest possible sense, for we believe that creating a truly interdisciplinary space for scholars of hand-inscribed objects will only serve to enrich our collective efforts. In this spirit, we are looking for papers that push the boundaries of the traditional limits of manuscript studies, as well as those that fit firmly within them. Your main research focus need not be manuscript studies, but the aim of this colloquium is to generate discussion across disciplinary lines and foster networks of manuscript scholars in the larger Toronto community.

For further information, please contact – msad.colloquium@gmail.com.