Workshop: Arabic manuscripts and how to read them (Two-day introductory workshop)

Date: 6-7 November 2024 
Place: Netherlands-Flemish Institute Cairo (NVIC) 

2024 workshop

On 6–7 November 2024 Petra Sijpesteijn and Olly Akkerman ran the workshop ‘Arabic manuscripts and how to read them’ for an enthusiastic group of 18 participants coming from near and far. One of the participants was our former assistant librarian Noha, who wrote about her experience with the workshop:

“I found the workshop to be incredibly enlightening. The practical sessions offered an excellent opportunity to apply the manuscript guidelines through codicological assignments. The second day was particularly enriching as we incorporated the social context into our manuscript structuring, taking into account the experiences of both the writer and the copier. Although the two days were packed with information, the engaging discussions with lecturers and participants from diverse backgrounds made the experience feel effortless. Overall, it was a highly positive and intellectually stimulating workshop that could pave the way for future opportunities in this field."

We had many more applications than we had chairs to accommodate people, so we hope to repeat this workshop in the future.

This introductory workshop is intended for graduate (MA and PhD) students and researchers who have an interest in Arabic handwritten materials and the scholarly traditions that have engaged with these materials in the past and present. No previous experience with manuscripts is necessary, but knowledge of written Arabic and spoken English are required, as are curiosity and engagement, including the willingness to prepare (a limited amount of) readings and assignments before the meetings.

Theoretical lectures and practical exercises using reproductions of manuscripts from the world-famous Leiden collection of Oriental manuscripts and other collections will introduce students to the material and textual features of Arabic manuscripts, including codicological concerns such as scripts, writing materials, book bindings, decorations, and the development of the text through additions, mistakes, corrections, and collation. Special attention will be given to the recent development in the field of book studies that examines manuscripts for their use and meaning in society as objects that are owned, traded, gifted, read, studied and handled as manuals, guides or symbols of power. We will also discuss how digitalisation and online database projects involving manuscripts are changing our engagement with and view of manuscripts and what that means. 

Requirements

• Knowledge of written Arabic and spoken English. The lectures will be in English, the materials we work with are in Arabic.  

• An academic background (BA degree, MA degree or PhD) in Arabic literature, history, art history or a related field.  

• Willingness to prepare including (a limited amount of) readings and assignments to be completed before the workshop. 

Program

Wednesday November 6

9:30–11:00        Introduction: Why Arabic manuscripts? Content, use, meaning

                              Olly Akkerman & Petra Sijpesteijn

11:00–11:30     Coffee break

11:30–13:00     Describing a manuscript: Materials, scripts, paper

                              Olly Akkerman & Petra Sijpesteijn

13:00–14:00     Lunch

14:00–15:30     Students work on codicological assignments

15:30–16:00     Coffee break

16:00–17:00     Students describe findings

Thursday November 7

9:30–11:00        The digital turn in manuscript studies: Chances and challenges

                              Petra Sijpesteijn

11:00–11:30     Coffee break

11:30–13:00     Case study:  Social life of Bohra manuscripts

                              Olly Akkerman

13:00–14:00     Lunch

14:00–15:30     Students work on a whole manuscript: what can be ‘read’?

15:30–16:00     Coffee break

16:00–17:00     Students present findings

17:00–17:30     Closing

18:00                 Public lecture
            Petra Sijpesteijn: ‘Reading beyond the words: what Arabic papyri can tell us’

Lecturers

• Olly Akkerman is lecturer and research associate at the Institut für Islamwissenschaft, Freie Universität Berlin. She is specialised in Arabic manuscripts, social codicology and archiving practices with a special interest in the Ismaʿili traditions of Egypt, Yemen and South Asia.  

• Petra Sijpesteijn is professor of Arabic at Leiden University. She is a social and cultural historian of the medieval Islamicate world with an interest in documentary cultures, especially Arabic papyri, manuscripts and related materials such as seals.

Registration

Registration for the 2024 workshop is closed. Once a new edition of the workshop is announced, registration will be reopened.