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Hi Code4Lib folks,

I'm co-teaching a course at Rare Book School this summer, June 9-13 (RBS is
located in Charlottesville, VA, but we are teaching at the University of
Pennsylvania in Philadelphia). The course is THE MEDIEVAL MANUSCRIPT IN THE
21ST CENTURY, and we (Will Noel and myself) are hoping to get a good mix of
students with primary interest in (medieval) manuscripts, primary interest
in developing software for working with (digitized) manuscripts, and some
with both. If this sounds like you (or if you know of someone who codes for
manuscirpts) please consider applying. You can also contact me off-list if
you have any questions.

Link to the course description (Application link in the left-hand menu):
http://www.rarebookschool.org/courses/manuscripts/m95/

And I'm pasting the full description below:

This course is designed to introduce students of both the digital
humanities and manuscript studies to the concepts and realities of working
with medieval manuscripts in the twenty-first century. Through the course,
students and faculty will examine materials from the collections of the
Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books, and Manuscripts, as well
as digitized versions of those materials and others.

Students in the course will consider four issues relating to using medieval
manuscripts in a digital world. The first issue is theoretical, considering
the relationship between medieval manuscripts and their digital
counterparts, and questioning the notion of digital surrogacy. What does
"digital surrogacy" mean and how might it affect our consideration of the
physical objects represented through the surrogate? The second issue is the
practical one of imbuing best practices when creating digital assets out of
medieval manuscripts. If we are to digitize manuscripts, how can we ensure
that those digital versions are the best they can be? And again: what does
that mean? The third issue concerns the present landscape for digital
medieval manuscripts (and medieval studies more generally), including
current publication technologies and the place of Open Data. The fourth
issue is that of building resources with and for digitized medieval
manuscripts. What tools are available to enable us to create something new?
As a final project, students and faculty in the course will work together
to build something new--either "hacking" an application to display and sort
medieval manuscript data, or creating an exhibition using an existing
platform (such as Omeka). The specific direction of the final project will
depend upon the skill sets available in the room.

Students should plan to bring a laptop with them to class.

In their personal statement, applicants should indicate their background,
special interests, and expectations from the course. They should clearly
state their experience working with manuscripts or manuscript-related
courses they have taken, as well as any experience using digital
technologies. Although it is expected that some students will have some
technological experience, it is not a requirement for the course.

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Dot Porter (MA, MSLS)
Digital Medievalist, Digital Librarian
Email: [log in to unmask]
Personal blog: dotporterdigital.org
Medieval Electronic Scholarly Alliance: http://www.mesa-medieval.org
MESA blog: http://mesamedieval.wordpress.com/
MESA on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/MedievalElectronicScholarlyAlliance
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