Translating Science
November 10-12, 2022
In partnership with the Rare Book Department of the Free Library of Philadelphia, the Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies (SIMS) at the University of Pennsylvania is pleased to announce the 15th Annual Lawrence J. Schoenberg Symposium on Manuscript Studies in the Digital Age.
This year’s symposium will consider the networks of exchange, transmission, and translation of natural knowledge evident in manuscript culture in the pre- and early modern periods. We will examine in particular the role of the manuscript book in the translation of natural knowledge across linguistic, regional, disciplinary, and epistemic boundaries. How did scholars, physicians, or philosophers use glosses, diagrams, or other elements of mise-en-page to convey information? What does the manuscript record reveal about the diffusion and conservation of knowledge? How does the materiality of the book itself drive the movement and development of scientific knowledge? What was the role of the scientific manuscript in the era of printed books?
The program will begin Thursday evening, November 10, 5:00 pm with a keynote address by Elly R. Truitt, Associate Professor in the Department of the History and Sociology of Science, University of Pennsylvania. The symposium will continue November 11-12 at the Kislak Center of Special Collections, Rare Books, and Manuscripts at the University of Pennsylvania.
