Keeping Note(book)s

Research Field G

Every day, people create written artefacts to help them organise their activities and thoughts, which range from simple shopping lists to diaries. A particular type of such written artefacts is commonly called ‘notebooks’. The visual organisation of notebooks is often irregular and changes from one page to another, using for instance different kinds of script styles, writing tools, and visual organisation. They are not written in one go following a preconceived plan, but over a period of time and rather spontaneously. Entries tend to be short, non-sequential, and independent from one another, and do not necessarily follow a chronological order. The content of notebooks may be multigraphic, including texts, sketches, maps, drawings, and doodles.

The aim of this Research Unit is to offer a characterization of notebooks as written artefacts, based on a comparative analysis of case studies that goes beyond the usually imposed temporal and cultural boundaries. For that purpose, the group adopts a multi-disciplinary framework integrating the fields of Manuscriptology, Palaeography, Art History, History, Linguistics, Neurosciences, and Natural Sciences.

Spokesperson: José Maksimczuk