Camp, Cynthia
TR 2 :20 PM
Park Hall 139
It's a rare English class in which you don't read original texts, but that's what's happening in this class. Instead of studying texts, we'll study the technologies through which texts circulate, paying particular attention to medieval and the earliest print (before 1500) books. Medieval books predate the printing press: all are handmade (often lovingly and intricately), unique, and highly valuable items. Not only are they gorgeous objects in their own right, but they presume a different relationship between text and reader than do contemporary printed books. We will especially attend to how the technologies that underlie these books inform the presentation of the text, and vice-versa. The first half of the class will be a basic introduction to manuscript studies, focusing on codicology (how the book was made), paleography (how the book was written), and illumination (how the book was decorated). In the second half of the class, you'll "adopt" a single medieval manuscript and delve deeply into its intricacies while also broadening your theoretical approaches to these unique books.
This semester, we are fortunate to be working with medieval manuscripts borrowed from the Manuscripts in the Curriculum project, hosted by the booksellers Les Enluminures. This will therefore be as close to a full-service manuscript class as we can offer at UGA. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity, so don't miss out!
Expect to participate daily and energetically, to do much group work (trust me, it is more friendly that way), to write regularly, to be frustrated by the course material, to do research that means something, to be amazed often by medieval scribes and artists -- and to study intimately books much older than this august institution.
Graduate students in this split-level course will be doing the same work as the undergraduates, with some expanded responsibilities (including additional secondary/supplementary reading) as well as more robust expectations for assignments and for the final "adopt a manuscript" assignment.