2012 Intensive Introduction to Islamic Codicology
3-7 September 2012, University of Cambridge, Cambridge UK
The Islamic Manuscript Association, together with the Thesaurus Islamicus Foundation, Cambridge University Library, the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre of Islamic Studies and the Faculty Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Cambridge, and Pembroke College, announces the sixth annual Intensive Introduction to Islamic Codicology course, which will be held from 5-9 September 2011 at the University of Cambridge.
This intensive five-day course will introduce the study of Islamic manuscript codices as physical objects, or the archaeology of the Islamic book. Daily illustrated lectures will provide an overview of writing supports, the structure of quires, ruling and page layout, bookbinding, ornamentation, tools and materials used in book making, and the paleography of book hands. Participants may choose to register for hands-on sessions during which they will examine Islamic manuscripts from Cambridge University Library and complete a series of practical exercises on manuscript description.
The course will be led by Professor François Déroche, director of studies at the École pratique des hautes études in Paris and author of the book Islamic Codicology: An Introduction to the Study of Manuscripts in Arabic Script. Professor Déroche’s lectures will be supplemented with lectures by eminent scholars of codicology and masters of the book arts. Past speakers have included Prof. Charles Melville, professor of Persian history at the University of Cambridge, director of the Shahnama Project, and president of the Islamic Manuscript Association; Prof. Geoffrey Khan, professor of Semitic philology at the University of Cambridge; Dr Muhammad Isa Waley, curator of Persian and Turkish collections at the British Library; Dr Sheila Canby, Patti Cadby Birch Curator in Charge of the Department of Islamic Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Prof. Dr Jan Just Witkam, Chair of Paleography and Codicology of the Islamic World at the University of Leiden; Ms Anita Chowdry; visual artist and educator; Mr Adam Williamson, visual artist and educator; and Mr Bora Keskiner, expert on Ottoman calligraphy.
Please note that the course does not require any knowledge of Arabic, Persian, Turkish, or other languages spoken in the Muslim World, and is suitable for art historians, bookbinders, codicologists, conservators, curators, and anyone else working with Islamic manuscripts.
The full course, including lectures and hands-on sessions, is limited to twelve persons for conservation and security reasons. There is no attendance limit for the lectures. All instruction will be in English.
The course's advanced registration list is full. Please contact the Association's office administrators at admin@islamicmanuscript.org with any queries or to add your name to the waiting list.
Made possible with the kind support of
