C8897 - Handwritten Science and Scientific Manuscript (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

This course introduces students to the role of manuscripts in the transmission of scientific knowledge across various cultural and linguistic contexts. It provides foundational notions in codicology, palaeography, and philology, equipping students with the basic tools needed to understand and interpret manuscript witnesses, along with their role in the construction and dissemination of premodern scientific knowledge. The course is designed to make manuscripts from different linguistic traditions accessible to all students, regardless of their background in the study of languages. At the same time, it encourages Students to pursue their specific interests and, where appropriate, apply their individual linguistic or disciplinary competences.

Readings/Bibliography

Reference Textbook

Raymond Clemens and Timothy Graham, Introduction to Manuscript Studies. Cornell University Press, 2007.

Franz Rosenthal, The Technique and Approach of Muslim Scholarship. Analecta Orientalia, 24. Rome: Pontificium Institutum Biblicum, 1947.

A detailed course syllabus—including suggested supplementary readings for non-attending students, images of the manuscripts examined during the course, and their specific bibliographical references—will be made available on the Virtuale platform at the beginning of the course.

For Students Who Do Not Attend the Course Regularly

Students who do not regularly attend the course are required to choose a topic for further study from those proposed on Virtuale or to agree on an alternative topic with the instructor.

Example of a supplementary reading:

Christopher de Hamel, Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts. Allen Lane / Penguin, 2016.

Teaching methods

The course will combine lectures with guided analysis and discussion of images of scientific and technical manuscripts from a range of cultural traditions. Following an introduction to the fundamental principles of manuscript production, structure, and circulation, the course will explore a selection of key themes in the history of medieval science and technology—including astronomy and astrology, divination, medicine, alchemy, and the study of animals and plants—through the comparative analysis of manuscripts from different traditions, with particular emphasis on the Latin, Greek, and Arabic worlds.

The close examination of manuscripts will provide students with an understanding of the production, transmission, and transformation of scientific and technical knowledge in the age of the handwritten book, highlighting the manuscript's central role in the preservation and dissemination of knowledge. By analysing the material, textual, and visual features of these codices, students will acquire the basic tools needed to interpret manuscripts as primary sources for the history of science and technology. Students will be encouraged to participate actively in class discussions by making observations, comparing the case studies presented during the course, and developing a critical approach to the analysis of manuscript sources.

No previous knowledge of the languages of the manuscripts examined is required. All materials will be presented and contextualised through guided reading led by the instructor, who will introduce the codicological, palaeographical, and textual features necessary for their interpretation.

Assessment methods

For students who regularly attend the course

Oral examination in which students will be asked to demonstrate their knowledge of the topics covered during the seminar, as well as their ability to comment on the primary sources and to establish connections between the different topics discussed in class.

Regular attendance is defined as physical attendance at at least 75% of the classes.

For students who do not regularly attend the course

In addition to the course programme, students are required to read one of the supplementary readings available on Virtuale or another text agreed upon with the instructor.

 

Students who demonstrate a comprehensive and well-integrated understanding of the topics covered during the course, together with the ability to engage with them critically, and who express themselves clearly using appropriate disciplinary terminology, will receive the highest marks.

Students who display a sound knowledge of the course material, supported by adequate analytical and synthetic skills and expressed in generally correct, though not always precise, language, will receive good marks.

Students whose preparation shows significant gaps and/or whose use of disciplinary language is inappropriate, despite demonstrating a basic knowledge of the examination material, will receive a pass mark only.

Students whose preparation is seriously inadequate, whose use of disciplinary language is inappropriate, and who are unable to demonstrate familiarity with the course bibliography and materials will not pass the examination.

 

Students with disabilities and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)
Students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders are entitled to special adjustments according to their condition, subject to assessment by the University Service for Students with Disabilities and SLD. Please do not contact teachers or Department staff, but make an appointment with the Service. The Service will then determine what adjustments are specifically appropriate, and get in touch with the teacher. For more information, please visit the page:
https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students

 

Propsective chronology of the examination dates:

- November/December 2027

- February/March 2027

- June 2027

- July 2027

- September 2027

- October 2027

 

Office hours

See the website of Lucia Raggetti