Working Groups

In addition to its eleven research fields, the Cluster of Excellence ‘Understanding Written Artefacts’ also comprises six working groups, which are designed to foster cross-disciplinary cooperation among our researchers.

Photo: Karsten Helmholz

PLMPI

The Palm-Leaf Manuscript Profiling Initiative

Exploring new methods to determine the material properties of one of the world’s most important and common type of written artefacts.

Photo: Antonella Britta

Theory and Terminology

Defining and systemising the theoretical input from former and future studies of manuscript cultures.

Photo: Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin

Facing New Technologies

Understanding the development and the meaning of handwriting in times of profound technological innovations, such as the spread of printing or digital media.

Photo: CSMC

Ethics Working Group

Grappling with the responsible treatment of written artefacts and research data and providing our research with guidance in intricate situations.

Photo: Agnieszka Helman-Ważny

Asian Highland Manuscripts

Manuscript-Making Beyond the State

Looking at the characteristics of writing traditions of ethnic minorities in Asia, such as the Naxi, Bai, Yao, and Tai, and contributing to the preservation of almost forgotten cultural knowledge.

Photo: CSMC

Permanent Seminar

Manuscript Analysis, Description and Documentation

Providing a forum for discussing the description and documentation of manuscripts from a comparative point of view.