The sum of its parts? (Un)making and (re)thinking collections and compilations from the Middle Ages and Early Modernity
La somme des parties ? (Dé)faire et (re)penser collections et compilations entre Moyen Âge et Première Modernité
Published on Monday, December 04, 2023
Abstract
From 6-7 May 2024, the seventh edition of the International PhD Conference of the Transitions Research Unit will be held at the University of Liège, Belgium. This event is being organised in partnership with the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies (CeMaRS, Ruhr-Universität Bochum) and the Institute for Reformation History (IHR, University of Geneva). This edition focuses on collection and compilation practices. The chronological boundaries for this Call for Papers are those explored by Transitions (i.e. the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period).
Announcement
Argument
The act of gathering and assembling stand-alone items has been a consistent practice throughout the Medieval and Early Modern periods. Examples include Schatzkammern, galleries of engravings, paintings and antiques, cabinets of curiosities, libraries, and even the reuse of architectural elements. One can also mention collections of letters or official documents, anthologies of musical works, florilegia of literary or historical texts, commonplace books, as well as more diverse typological textual groupings, such as miscellaneous manuscripts or Sammelbände. Furthermore, a large variety of compilation practices can be observed in written works, ranging from occasional citations to fully constructed narratives based on selected excerpts.
Collections or compilations are regarded by current research as motivated and organised productions which result from strategies of consultation, selection, and reorganisation of their component parts. Any “raw material” extracted from its initial context of creation and inserted into a new environment, in contact with other stand-alone elements, acquires a new meaning. The resulting collection or compilation is not identical to its components; it constitutes a creative and original production that is to be understood as a whole.
Although collections and compilations are largely the result of comparable or similar processes and strategies, they are often studied separately, according to the type of material. This doctoral conference aims to overcome these divides in order to examine these practices from a comparative and multidisciplinary perspective. This involves exploring methodological approaches, focusing on the following three main angles.
Grasping the Whole
To the extent that the act of compiling or collecting generates a new entity, it represents a creative activity per se. Thereby, assembling material or textual items constitutes an original production that can be understood as a work in its own right. This work reflects a programme whose coherence depends on the motivations of its creator(s). Sometimes explicit (title, preface, description of the items…), this programme is generally revealed through the methods of selection and ordering of the pieces, or even through their rewriting or reconfiguration.
Furthermore, taking into account the individuals or groups that brought the items together can aid in understanding and examining a collection as a whole. Can they be attributed the status of authors, artists or composers alongside those who produced the material collected? What are their relationships with their sources, and how do they make them their own? To what extent can the initiator of a collection be considered its true creator?
Stages of Production
The creation of a collection or compilation can involve several stages: accessing and consulting the “raw material”, selecting it, (re)organising it, and sometimes reproducing it. One can question the ways in which the collector or compiler gained access to the items. Did they rely on an already established set? What types of elements were taken into consideration, and on the basis of what criteria (aesthetic, thematic, chronological…)? Were these items typologically homogeneous?
Once removed from their original context, the pieces are reintegrated in a new environment, which raises the question of their organisational principles and, in the case of a reproduction, of fidelity to the original. Does the collection or compilation remain the same during its transmission or is it subject to modification? If so, how does this transformation then influence its reception?
Finally, what happens to the elements that are not included? Building up a collection can indeed lead to the atomisation of knowledge and may result (intentionally or not) in the destruction or oblivion of all that was not taken into account.
Returning to the Constituent Parts
Returning to the parts is often necessary, especially when collections and compilations serve as their only means of transmission. Many editorial projects have tended to disregard the internal organisation of documentary collections and have imposed new systems for ordering their contents. An edition can thus contribute to the creation of a new entity, which tends to blur or conceal the tradition of the documents that have reached us.
In their interpretation, one cannot underestimate the filter applied by the collection or compilation. This third axis explores the dead ends and opportunities generated by the whole in the analysis of its components: is the collection a blessing or an obstacle for the modern scholar?
Practical Details
Papers (max. 20 minutes) will be delivered in French or English.
Proposals are expected by 19 January 2024,
in the form of a PDF document sent to jd.transitions@uliege.be. Submissions should include the contact information (name, affiliation) of the PhD student, the title of their thesis, the title of their presentation, as well as an abstract of up to 300 words in either French or English. Candidates will be informed of their selection by 16 February.
A certificate of participation will be delivered upon request at the end of the conference.
Lunch and coffee breaks will be provided. Transportation or accommodation expenses may be reimbursed for up to 100 euros per person.
Organising Committee
- Aurélien Bourgaux, Université de Liège
- Émilie Corswarem, Université de Liège
- Mathilde Kaisin, Université de Liège
- Valérie Leyh, Université de Namur
- Romane Massart, Université de Liège
- Lionel Mira, Université de Liège
- Sandra Otte, Université de Liège
- André Rocco, Université de Liège
- Matthias Rozein, Université de Liège
- Emile Thonar, Université de Liège
Scientific Committee
- Aurélien Bourgaux, Université de Liège
- Émilie Corswarem, Université de Liège
- Élise Franssen, Université de Liège
- Mathilde Kaisin, Université de Liège
- Stephan Köhli, Ruhr-Universität Bochum
- Valérie Leyh, Université de Namur
- Romane Massart, Université de Liège
- Christophe Masson, Université de Liège
- Lionel Mira, Université de Liège
- Sandra Otte, Université de Liège
- André Rocco, Université de Liège
- Matthias Rozein, Université de Liège
- Emile Thonar, Université de Liège
About Transitions
The Research Unit Transitions at the University of Liège (http://www.transitions.uliege.be) aims to explore the dynamics that define the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period. Numerous projects led by its members encourage interdisciplinary research practices, as well as the development of a network of collaborations on national and international levels.
The international PhD conference of the Research Unit is held every two years and is open to doctoral students from Belgian and foreign universities from diverse research backgrounds, such as philology, literature, linguistics, history, art history, or musicology. Designed as a platform for exchanging ideas around a common theme, it offers young researchers the opportunity to share their projects and confront their respective methodologies with those of their peers or more experienced colleagues.
Subjects
- History (Main category)
- Periods > Middle Ages > Early Middle Ages
- Periods > Early modern > Sixteenth century
- Mind and language > Language > Literature
- Mind and language > Representation > History of art
- Periods > Middle Ages > High and Late Middle Ages
- Periods > Early modern > Seventeenth century
- Mind and language > Epistemology and methodology > Corpus approaches, surveys, archives
Places
- Place du 20-Août, 7
Liège, Belgium (4000)
Event attendance modalities
Full on-site event
Date(s)
- Friday, January 19, 2024
Attached files
Keywords
- collection, compilation, gallery, painting, antiques, cabinet of curiosities, library, letter, musical work, manuscript, Sammelbände
Contact(s)
- André Rocco
courriel : jd [dot] transitions [at] uliege [dot] be
Reference Urls
Information source
- André Rocco
courriel : jd [dot] transitions [at] uliege [dot] be
License
This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons - Attribution 4.0 International - CC BY 4.0 .
To cite this announcement
Matthias Rozein, Emile Thonar, Lionel Mira, « The sum of its parts? (Un)making and (re)thinking collections and compilations from the Middle Ages and Early Modernity », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Monday, December 04, 2023, https://doi.org/10.58079/1cc6