Register for a CSMC workshop
Facing New Materials: Changes of Writing Substances, Implements and Supports in Manuscript Cultures
When: Thursday, 25 January 2024, 2:15 pm CET – Friday, 26 January 2024, 5:40 pm CET
Where: Warburgstraße 26, 20354 Hamburg, and online
The introduction of new materials poses challenges to established ways of producing (hand-) written artefacts. But in turn it can also offer chances. In this workshop we aim at exploring how manuscript cultures reacted to the introduction of new materials. That comprises new writing supports, writing implements and writings substances.
Our main questions regard the reasons and modes behind the adoption of the new materials. For example, economic factors – such as cheaper production cost – and more convenient features – such as light weight or durability – can motivate the preference for a certain material. In other cases, the unavailability of formerly used materials or the restricted access to production means promoted innovation, as with the abandonment of papyrus in Europe in the early Middle Ages. Other changes were either imposed or hindered by authorities, such as the use of paper under colonial regimes. At the same time, we want to explore how the writing processes adapted to the new possibilities. The different affordances of the new materials call for changes of script, writing habits, or even revolutionise the whole manuscripts ‘production chain’.
By focusing entirely on the impact of new materials, the workshop takes into account an aspect that is often crucial to the existence of a manuscript culture.
Workshop organisers:
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