The Manuscript Studies Interest Group (MSIG) is a regular meeting for people who want to get up close and personal with a variety of handwritten objects.
We explore and celebrate the diversity of manuscript traditions from across time periods and geographical areas – Penn’s collections are especially strong with materials from the Middle East and Southeast Asia, but we have plenty from Western Europe as well. We welcome everyone—undergraduate, graduate students, staff and faculty alike—to contribute their insights, share their work, and share the joy of manuscripts. Together, we strive to make the study of manuscripts a joyful and inspiring experience.
Meetings will focus on looking at a variety of manuscripts from Penn’s collections on a theme. Towards the end we’ll have a discussion while we do a creative activity.
In Spring 2026, we’ll meet on the third Wednesday of the month in January, February, March, and April. We meet in the Vitale II Lab for Digital Humanities and Book History (Van Pelt 623, in the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts).
On December 3, we'll look outside of the box and talk about manuscripts as data, including digitization and using digitized manuscripts as text and as images.
The Manuscript Studies Interest Group (MSIG) is a regular meeting for people who want to get up close and personal with a variety of handwritten objects.
The Manuscript Studies Interest Group (MSIG) is a regular meeting for people who want to get up close and personal with a variety of handwritten objects.
The Manuscript Studies Interest Group (MSIG) is a regular meeting for people who want to get up close and personal with a variety of handwritten objects.
Previous themes with links to book lists (PDF):
(Blue Beet from Penn LJS 419, fol. 42r, which we looked at in Plants & Animals)
