Understanding Written Artefacts

Material, Interaction and Transmission in Manuscript Cultures

Since 2019, CSMC is home to the Cluster of Excellence ‘Understanding Written Artefacts’ (UWA). The research at UWA aims to develop a global framework for the study of all written artefacts from the beginning of writing to the present day and from all regions that have produced such artefacts. Funded by the DFG, the Cluster is being carried out in cooperation with Helmut Schmidt Universität, TU Hamburg, Universität Lübeck, and Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM).

Today, around 150 researchers from over 40 academic disciplines are working on more than 60 research projects across 11 Research Fields. Further 15 projects have already been completed. In six Working Groups, researchers deepen their cross-disciplinary collaboration on overarching topics.

Research Fields and current projects

Working Groups

Completed projects

Overview: The structure of UWA

Research Fields

Artefact Profiling

Research Field A

Written artefacts can tell us much more than what meets the eye.

Inscribing Spaces

Research Field B

Inscriptions are omnipresent.

Creating Originals

Research Field C

Each and every written artefact is unique.

(Re-)Shaping Written Artefacts

Research Field D

Written Artefacts are not just containers.

Archiving Artefacts

Research Field E

Written artefacts hardly ever come alone.

Data Linking

Research Field F

The study of written artefacts produces a wealth of data.

Keeping Note(book)s

Research Field G

Every day, people create written artefacts to help them organise their activities and thoughts.

Exploring Multilingual Written Artefacts

Research Field H

Multilingual written artefacts provide tangible evidence for linguistic and cultural interactions.

Formatting Multigraphic Artefacts

Research Field I

The modes in which contents are transmitted in written artefacts are not homogenous.

Situating Graffiti

Research Field J

Humans leave written traces wherever they set their foot.

Selecting Materials

Research Field K

The selection of materials for written artefacts is not accidental.

Working Groups and Seminars

The Palm-Leaf Manuscript Profiling Initiative (PLMPI)

Working Group

Palm-leaf manuscripts belong to the world’s most important and numerous handwritten artefacts.

Theory and Terminology (TNT)

Working Group

The TNT working group has dedicated itself to the task of defining and systemising the theoretical input from former and future studies of manuscript cultures.

Facing New Technologies (FNT)

Working Group

Despite new technologies of text reproduction such as printing, photocopying, and computer printouts, manuscript cultures have not ceased to exist.

Ethics

Working Group

Researchers can be faced with ethical dilemmas that concern their research work or research topics.

Asian Highland Manuscripts

Working Group

People’s shared experience, conditioned by local ecosystems, defines a manuscript culture as much as the ethnic origin or the nationality of the manuscripts’ creators.

Permanent Seminar on Manuscript Analysis, Description, and Documentation

Seminar Group

The study of manuscripts belonging to European, Asian and African traditions has made significant progress.