Research

Since 2012, the Centre for the Studies of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC) has been investigating the empirical diversity of manuscript cultures from both a historical and comparative perspective, based on material artefacts. Since 2019, the vast majority of its ongoing research projects are organised in the Cluster of Excellence ‘Understanding Written Artefacts’. The results published so far are available here.

Cluster of Excellence

‘Understanding Written Artefacts’

UWA Research Fields

CSMC is home to the Cluster of Excellence 'Understanding Written Artefacts'. Funded by the DFG, it currently comprises roughly 60 research projects from more than 40 academic disciplines.

Completed UWA Projects

Since its inception in 2019, researchers at the Cluster of Excellence have completed about 50 individual research projects

Working Groups

In addition to its eleven research fields, UWA also comprises six working groups, which are designed to foster cross-disciplinary cooperation among our researchers.

Affiliated Projects

Current Affiliated Projects

Besides being home to the Cluster of Excellence ‘Understanding Written Artefacts’, CSMC houses and is involved with a wide variety of research projects, both independently and in cooperation with partner institutions.

Completed Affiliated Projects

Over the course of its history, the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC), as well as its predecessor, the SFB 950 ‘Manuscript Cultures in Asia, Africa and Europe’, has housed or been involved with a wide variety of completed research projects.

Facilities

Laboratories

CSMC is home to a threefold laboratory system to support the Centre's study of written artefacts both in Hamburg and abroad. It includes a stationary High Performance Lab, the Mobile Lab, and the Container Lab.

Library

The CSMC Research Library is a world-leading collection for research on written artefacts, especially in the field of manuscript studies. It houses more than 16,000 books, periodicals, and databases, including numerous rare and hard-to-find publications.

Research Data and Data Bases

CSMC makes as much data as possible available open access. The nature of this data ranges from digital images and 3D scans of written artefacts to the raw data and results of material analyses and multispectral imaging.

J.P. Gumbert Dissertation Award

With the J. P. Gumbert Dissertation Award, the CSMC honours outstanding doctoral theses that contribute to any aspect of the study of manuscripts and other written artefacts.