Research on written artefacts now frequently employs approaches in the natural sciences and material science. UWA is at the forefront of this development and thus actively seeks to deepen cooperations with leading research institutions in the natural sciences. This month, we are happy to share the news of two innovative pilot studies we are currently carrying out with DESY. In one of these studies, we have been working with clay tablets provided by the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe and the Hamburg State Library, respectively, thus bringing together four major Hamburg institutions from fields of science and culture. Moreover, we are looking at new publications, pupils visiting our Centre, and ways to fight off the evil eye.
Dear Readers
Current vacancies at CSMC
Research Associate (postdoc) for the Project ‘EXC 2176 Understanding Written Artefacts’, full-time and fixed-term (until 31 December 2025, starting date asap)
The core responsibility of the research associate is to pursue an independent research project that fits its overall comparative research profile, and to contribute to the collaborative research activities of the Cluster. Deadline for applications: 24 May 2023.
The core responsibility of the research associate is to pursue an independent research project that fits its overall comparative research profile, and to contribute to the collaborative research activities of the Cluster. Deadline for applications: 24 May 2023.
More information on the position and online application form
news
Marta Mayer/DESY
UWA and DESY Cooperate in Pilot Studies on Historical Written Artefacts
With two recent pilot studies at the X-ray radiation source PETRA III, UWA and DESY are jointly breaking new ground in the material analysis of historical written artefacts. The first one, carried out by Szilvia Jáka-Sövegjártó (UWA) and Martin Etter (DESY), revolves around Mesopotamian clay tablets; the second project is led by Agnieszka Helman-Ważny (UWA) and Sylvio Haas (DESY) and investigates initiation cards belonging to the Bon tradition. Both studies aim to draw conclusions about the origin and age of the objects from their material composition. A TV report on the cooperation, focussing on the study on clay tablets, was broadcast in the NDR magazine ‘Hamburg Journal’.
De Gruyter
Copying, Drafting, Taking Notes: New Volume of SMC
The new volume of the series Studies in Manuscript Cultures is out now. Personal Manuscripts: Copying, Drafting, Taking Notes provides a comprehensive survey, from Japan to Europe through the Middle East, of manuscripts that have been produced for the personal use of their scribe only. The main concern is the possibility of identifying typical features of such manuscripts in terms of materials, visual organisation and content. The volume is edited by David Durand-Guédy and Jürgen Paul and is available open access from the publisher's website.
CSMC
How Manuscripts Affect and Create Social Realities
In the last decades, the idea that not only humans but also inanimate objects can have agency has become popular in anthropology, art history, and the social sciences. The new volume of manuscript cultures, edited by Michael Kohs and Sabine Kienitz, considers the agency of manuscripts (or written artefacts in general) – an aspect that has not yet received the necessary attention in research. Like all previous editions of the series, Agency: How Manuscripts Affect and Create Social Realities is available open access and can be downloaded from our website.
11-12 May: Beyond Visualising Language
‘Beyond Visualising Language’ is a scientific conference and art exhibition at the same time – but above all, it is a forum for conversations about signs and writing.
On 11 May, eight lectures, including a keynote by Sybille Krämer, will shed light on the art of writing and writing as a form of art. On 12 May, science and art will engage in dialogue. Six artists – Dagmara Kraus, Philip Loersch, David Maisuradze, Axel Malik, Timo Nasseri, and Mirko Reisser (DAIM) – will present selected works on site and, in conversation with researchers and the audience, explore the relationship between language and writing, words and signs, legibility and unreadability, functionality and adornment, and form and content.
Elena Chepel
Elena Chepel Starts Visiting Professorship ‘Women in Manuscript Cultures’
Starting in April, Elena Chepel from the University of Vienna taken up the new Visiting Professorship ‘Women in Manuscript Cultures’ at CSMC, which she will hold until the end of September. Shortly after her arrival in Hamburg, we talked to her about her background, her plans for her time at CSMC, and the role gender issues play in her own research. On 1 June (6:00 pm – 9:00 pm), she will deliver a lecture on ‘Women Creating Papyrus Documents: Authorship, Gender, and Rhetoric’, which will be followed by a reception to celebrate the start of the new guest professorship.
wildbild, EASA
Markus Fischer Becomes a Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts
At a ceremony at the University of Salzburg on 15 April 2023, the European Academy of Science and Arts (EASA) welcomed 38 new members from eleven nations to its prestigious transnational network of scientists, artists, politicians, and intellectual leaders. Among them was Markus Fischer, spokesperson of ‘Artefact Profiling’ (RFA). EASA is a non-governmental European association dedicated to promoting scientific and societal progress. It currently has around 2,000 members from all parts of the world, including 37 Nobel laureates.
Gwen Melzer
Humanities-Centred Artificial Intelligence
he 46th German Conference on Artificial Intelligence will take place from 26-29 October 2023 in Berlin. As in previous years, part of the programme will be a workshop addressing AI methods from the perspective of humanities scholars. ‘Humanities-Centred AI’ (CHAI), which is organised by Sylvia Melzer, Stefan Thiemann, and Hagen Peukert, takes place on Tuesday, 26 October. The Call for Papers is now open, the deadline for submissions is 21 July.
Looking Ahead: Save the dates!
4 July 2023: Hamburgs Schriftschätze. Neue Fragen an alte Manuskripte
In cooperation with Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Hamburg (SUB), we will present an exhibition of 13 special written artefacts from the SUB on which scholars at CSMC have been doing research. The exhibition opens on 4 July and will run until 2 October 2023. More information will be available soon.
27-29 September 2023: Studying Written Artefacts: Challenges and Perspectives
This international conference is the major event of our current funding phase. It will provide a unique forum for sharing experiences and views among the international community working on written artefacts, showcasing pioneering research, and developing new ideas.
logbook: the CSMC Blog
Karsten Helmholz
Girls’ Day and Boys’ Day at CSMC
The nationwide Girls’ Day and Boys’ Day help to break down classic role models in many professions, including science. This year, CSMC participated for the first time, with great success: committed researchers and curious kids made the fully booked event a highly rewarding experience. While the girls looked into various methods to study the biological and chemical properties of manuscripts in our laboratory, the boys’ programme included hands-on research activities on Japanese book bindings, cuneiform tablets, graffiti, and Arabic manuscripts.
Artefact of the month
Museo delle Civiltà, Roma
What Will Save the Houshold?
In Mesopotamia, the fear of illness, of deadly demonic influences, of misfortune and the evil eye, was omnipresent. The favourite means of protection against such evil adversaries was a typical household device: a clay bowl. Our Artefact of the Month, presented by Marco Moriggi, had precisely this purpose. Why use a bowl against evil influences? And what do we know about how it was used to protect its owners?