Occasional Paper seriesOn the Definition of ‘Written Artefact’

1 December 2023

Photo: Karsten Helmholz

How can we pin down the meaning of a broad general concept like ‘written artefact’? The ‘Theory and Terminology’ Working Group has devoted extensive discussions and reflections to this question. They have now published their considerations in an Occasional Paper.

The concept of ‘written artefact’ is, quite obviously, at the very heart of a Cluster of Excellence the very purpose of which is to understand such artefacts. At the same time, terms that refer to a multitude of very diverse empirical objects are notoriously hard to define. Indeed, providing a succinct account that captures all and only those objects that are within the research scope of CSMC/UWA might turn out to be infeasible. Still, especially in light of the numerous different disciplines involved in the Cluster, many of which have developed their own terminological characteristics, we clearly need at least a broad understanding of what we mean when using the notion of ‘written artefact’.

Accordingly, the ‘Theory and Terminology’ Working Group, which aims to systematise the theoretical input from the numerous disciplines that contribute to the study of manuscript cultures, now offers a paper that directly addresses the question of how to define ‘written artefacts’. This paper, which has been published in the CSMC Occasional Papers series and is available open access, is the result of thorough exchanges, reflections and discussions that took place during the regular meetings of the group in the years 2021–2022.     

With its Occasional Papers, the CSMC offers provisional results of ongoing reflections on general issues in manuscript research. An emphasis is on terminological questions (see for instance the papers on the definition of ‘manuscript’ and ‘paracontent’, respectively). Comments and suggestions on any of the papers are always welcome.