“There and Back Again”:
The Complicated Relationship Between Manuscript and
Print in the Islamic Tradition

Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, Hamburg
14 - 15 June 2019

Outline

This workshop explores and calls into question certain commonly held assumptions about the nature of writing and technological advancement in the Islamic tradition. In particular, it challenges the idea that mechanical print naturally and inevitably displaces handwritten texts as well as the notion that the so-called transition from manuscript to print is unidirectional. Indeed, rather than distinct technologies that emerge in a progressive series (one naturally following the other,) they frequently co-exist in complex and complementary relationships—relationships we are only now starting to recognize and explore.
This two-day meeting brings together a group of internationally recognized scholars from an array of disciplines (including philology, linguistics, religious studies, history, anthropology, and typography) whose work focuses on the written word—channeled through various media—as a social and cultural phenomenon. Our goal is to develop more systematic approaches to the study of Islamic writing cultures writ large, in an effort to further our understanding of the social, cultural and intellectual relationships between manuscripts, printed texts and the people who use and create them.

Workshop Programme

Download the programme and the abstracts (PDF).

Venue

The workshop will be held at the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, Warburgstraße 26, Hamburg, Germany.
How to find us

You may find the Hamburg Tourismus site useful for finding a suitable accommodation.
For more information please contact us.

Registration

Participation is free of charge and vistors are welcome. Please register below.