New Technologies, Training Initiatives and the Future of Manuscript Studies

TL;DR

The paper discusses how digital technologies and new training initiatives are transforming manuscript studies, emphasizing integration with Digital Humanities and heritage science to ensure the field's future relevance.

Contribution

It advocates for integrating manuscript studies with Digital Humanities and heritage science through targeted training programs for advanced students.

Findings

Digital surrogates and analytical technologies are revolutionizing manuscript research.

Current separation of manuscript studies from Digital Humanities is increasingly problematic.

Training programs can facilitate the integration of digital methods into manuscript studies.

Abstract

We are standing at the edge of a major transformation in manuscript studies. Digital surrogates, Digital Humanities analyses and the rise of new scientific analytical technologies proliferate across universities, libraries and museums. They change the way we consult, research and disseminate historical manuscripts to reveal hitherto unknown, and unknowable, information. This article looks at how the field can best integrate these transformations. Concentrating on training programmes for advanced students as a way of reimagining the field, it provides concrete advice for the future of manuscript studies, arguing that the existence of manuscript studies as removed from Digital Humanities and heritage science is becoming more and more artificial and detrimental to the future of the field.