Online Workshop: An Introduction to Arabic Manuscripts

Online Workshop: An Introduction to Arabic Manuscripts

The UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies is offering a free, intensive online workshop, “An Introduction to Arabic Manuscripts,” on August 23-27, 2021. The application link can be found here: https://ucla.in/3cmYvbP

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Kitāb al-Diryāq, Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS Arabe 5847, f. 37r

This week-long workshop features leading authorities on the study of Arabic manuscripts. The workshop will equip emerging scholars with the basic tools to conduct research with original handwritten texts in Arabic script.

Over the course of five days, participants will learn the basics of codicology, paleography, and manuscript production and circulation, in the context of an expansive vision of current debates in Arabic manuscript research.

Topics include:

  • anatomy of the codex
  • canonical and informal scripts
  • colophons, audition notes, owners’ notes, readers’ notes
  • digital collections
  • ethics and best practices
  • scribes and other craftspeople
  • strategies for decipherment
  • supports, bindings
  • technical terminology
  • transmission practices and patterns

Enrollment is free of charge. Full participation is by application only. Others may observe via webinar.

Application deadline is 22 April 2021. Apply at https://ucla.in/3cmYvbP
All applicants are welcome, regardless of home institution; priority will be given to PhD students and untenured scholars with compelling need to use Arabic manuscripts in their research.

Co-sponsored by Princeton and UCLA, which house the two largest repositories of Islamicate manuscripts in North America.

Organizers: Marina Rustow (Princeton) and Luke Yarbrough (UCLA)

UCLA event website and list of sponsors: https://www.international.ucla.edu/cnes/event/14962

Princeton website coming soon!

For questions not addressed above or on the web page, please contact: CNES [at] international.ucla.edu

© International Qur’anic Studies Association, 2021. All rights reserved.

Upcoming Summer School: Philology & Manuscripts from the Islamic World

The Leiden University Centre for the Study of Islam and Society (LUCIS) will offer its third Summer school on philology and manuscripts from the muslim world from August 20–30, 2019. This summer school is for graduate (MA and PhD) students and researchers who have an interest in handwritten materials, editing, and the tradition of editing in the Muslim world. It offers theoretical lectures as well as hands-on practice with samples from the world-famous collections of the Leiden University Library.

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Over the course of two weeks, specialists from Leiden University and beyond will provide theoretical instruction on issues of editing, paleography, conservation and other material aspects of oriental manuscripts. They will also speak about philology, literacy and orality and the transmission of knowledge in the Islamic manuscript culture, presenting case-studies from various parts of the Muslim world. Participants can use this information to practice their skills in producing a sample critical edition of a manuscript of their choice, under the supervision of experts.

Since the first contributions of scholars such as Scaliger, Golius and Warner, the Leiden University Library has housed one of the most important collections of oriental manuscripts in Europe. It includes thousands of Arabic, Persian and Ottoman manuscripts, not only from the historic heartlands of Islam but also from Asia, al-Andalus and Africa. Each participant will have full access to this collection as well as other library services.

Practical information

  • Language of instruction: English. Non-native speakers are required to have a command of English equivalent to at least TOEFL 550.
  • Costs: €750,- (including access to the library). Participants are expected to provide for their own travel, visa (if applicable), accommodation and living expenses. LUCIS will provide invitation letters for participants who need to apply for a visa.
  • Reduced fee: Participants who are unable to secure financial support from their home institution may be eligible for reduced fees. Please contact LUCIS at lucis@hum.leidenuniv.nl for more information about the possibility of a reduced fee.

Application

Graduate (MA and PhD) students and researchers who have an interest in handwritten materials and text editing are encouraged to apply for participation in the summer school. Applications should include:

  • A letter of motivation specifying what research language(s) the applicant masters;
  • A curriculum vitae;
  • If you are a non-native speaker of English: a certificate testifying command of the English language (TOEFL 550 or equivalent).

The deadline for applications is Monday 17 June, 2019. Participants will be informed about their application by Friday 28 June, 2019.  Send your application to lucis@hum.leidenuniv.nl.

Text and image accessed and reproduced with the kind permission of Romy Koreman: https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/events/2019/08/lucis-summer-school-philology–manuscripts-from-the-muslim-world

© International Qur’anic Studies Association, 2019. All rights reserved.

Summer School in Arabic Codicology, at the Royal Library of the Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, July 9 – 13, Madrid

The fifth, consecutive, intensive summer school on Arabic Codicology: the Islamic Manuscript Heritage in the El Escorial Collection took place in Madrid, Spain from July 9 – 13. The course was led and directed by Professor Nuria de Castilla (Ecole Pratique d’Hautes Etudes, Paris), and Professor François Déroche (Collège de France, Paris). This year, participants were also able to benefit from the expertise of José Luis del Valle Merino, director of the Royal Library of the Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial. The course was sponsored by the European Commission Research Project Saadian Intellectual and Cultural LifE SICLE 670628 and co-organised by UCM’s Fundación General.

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Professor Nuria de Castilla and some of the participants at the summer school

The aim of the summer school has been to provide the students with basic training in codicology and the research methods they will need when studying and analyzing Arabic manuscripts. Following morning lectures on different aspects of codicology, such as composition, writing surfaces, illumination, paleography and bindings, the afternoons were dedicated to hands-on sessions at the Royal Library, where participants were able to apply the knowledge and skills they had learnt, by examining manuscripts from the Arabic Collection.

The El Escorial Arabic Manuscript Collection (circa 2000 codices) consists mainly of manuscripts from the Library of Sultan Mūlay Zaydān, which became part of the Library of Phillip III of Spain in 1612. The collection is thus one of the very few from the Muslim world to remain virtually intact and is therefore considered to be the most important collection of Arabic manuscripts in Spain and one of the most interesting in Europe.

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A hands-on session in the Library

The course not only furthered participants’ knowledge of the collection, but also promoted the creation of international networks and exchange between participants. With an average of 100 applications each year, but capacity for only 16 participants, to date, the course has welcomed participants from all five continents. This year, the course was attended by participants from Argentina, Austria, France, Germany, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Morocco, Singapore, Spain, Tunisia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

 

Anyone interested in the field of codicology can find more information on the summer school’s Facebook page, Twitter profile or website.

© International Qur’anic Studies Association, 2018. All rights reserved.