CSMC
CSMCCentre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures
Since 2002, the Girls’ Day gives schoolgirls the opportunity to spend a day getting to know professions that have so far been predominantly practised by men, especially in technical fields and the natural sciences. Since 2011, there has also been a parallel Boys’ Day, which, in turn, aims to interest boys in jobs with a high proportion of women. The number of participating institutions has constantly been growing. In 2024, the day included over 15,000 opportunities for girls and over 8,600 opportunities for boys nationwide.
For the CSMC, it was the second time to take part in both the Girls’ Day and the Boys’ Day. The two groups focused on different aspects of the study of written artefacts that come together at the Cluster.
Our Girls’ Day programme included a session on archaeometry. Historical manuscripts can consist of many different materials, the study of which can provide valuable information about their history and production. Our laboratory at the CSMC houses several instruments for analysing these materials and allows us to combine philological, historical, and codicological studies. Participants of the Girls’ Day first got to know different writing supports such as paper, papyrus, parchment, and wax tablets, as well as with different writing media such as inks, pigments, and dyes. In the second part of the session, they got an overview of the different devices in our laboratory, which can be used for example be used to analyse the composition of materials, identify forgeries, or restore lost writing.
Our Boys’ Day programme featured a session on modern Assyriology. Participants got to know the oldest writing system of mankind and learned the basics to read the myths, epics, and rituals of the Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Hittites, and many other peoples of ancient Mesopotamia. They also gained an insight into modern research, in particular the collaboration between the humanities and natural sciences, which makes it possible to gain new insights and unravel the mysteries of the past. We talked about the professional perspectives of people studying Assyriology or other small subjects. From academic research to museum work and archaeological excavations, there are many ways to explore the rich history of Mesopotamia and thus preserve it.
Moreover, both girls and boys participated in a session on the cooperation between the humanities and computer science. They gained insight into a research project on medieval magic and get to know some current language models such as ChatGPT and Perplexity.ai, their advantages and disadvantages, and what researchers can do to fine-tune language models. We also tested different language models and compare their results.