Periodic Reporting for period 1 - REBPAF (Re-mediating the Early Book: Pasts and Futures)
Reporting period: 2023-03-01 to 2025-02-28
The digital revolution is opening our eyes to the important historical truth that the enduring cultural and economic value of the book has always depended on its adaptability to different media, today from printed book to e-book (and back again), and in the past from manuscript book to printed book (and vice versa).
Re-mediating the Early Book: Pasts and Futures (REBPAF) is a large-scale Doctoral Network coordinated by the University of Galway. It is funded by the European Union, the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation, and UK Research and Innovation. Focusing on the ways in which 15th- and 16th-century book producers (scribes, printers, entrepreneurs) negotiated the dynamic relations between the manuscript book and the printed book and adapted to the evolving challenges of the market, it demonstrates the continuing relevance of these cultural and economic negotiations to the modern world.
To this end, REBPAF unites 6 Universities offering exceptional expertise in medieval and early modern studies (Bristol, Alicante, Antwerp, Galway, Vienna, Antwerp, Zürich) with 9 non-academic partners that embody the continuing importance and relevance of the early book in Europe today. Our partners include publishers, book dealers, museums, and other stakeholders in the creative and heritage sectors: Antiquariat Inlibris (Austria), Maggs Bros. Ltd. (UK), The National Print Museum (Ireland), Österreichische Nationalbibliothek (Austria), Vlaamse Erfgoedbibliotheken (Belgium), Stiftsbibliothek Klosterneuburg (Austria), Boydell & Brewer (UK), Quaternio Verlag Luzern (Switzerland), and Cúirt International Festival of Literature (Ireland).
As part of their training, REBPAF's 13 DCs embark on secondments with these partners, providing opportunities for knowledge transfer from research to industry, and from industry back to research.
Re-mediating the Early Book: Pasts and Futures (REBPAF) is a large-scale Doctoral Network coordinated by the University of Galway. It is funded by the European Union, the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation, and UK Research and Innovation. Focusing on the ways in which 15th- and 16th-century book producers (scribes, printers, entrepreneurs) negotiated the dynamic relations between the manuscript book and the printed book and adapted to the evolving challenges of the market, it demonstrates the continuing relevance of these cultural and economic negotiations to the modern world.
To this end, REBPAF unites 6 Universities offering exceptional expertise in medieval and early modern studies (Bristol, Alicante, Antwerp, Galway, Vienna, Antwerp, Zürich) with 9 non-academic partners that embody the continuing importance and relevance of the early book in Europe today. Our partners include publishers, book dealers, museums, and other stakeholders in the creative and heritage sectors: Antiquariat Inlibris (Austria), Maggs Bros. Ltd. (UK), The National Print Museum (Ireland), Österreichische Nationalbibliothek (Austria), Vlaamse Erfgoedbibliotheken (Belgium), Stiftsbibliothek Klosterneuburg (Austria), Boydell & Brewer (UK), Quaternio Verlag Luzern (Switzerland), and Cúirt International Festival of Literature (Ireland).
As part of their training, REBPAF's 13 DCs embark on secondments with these partners, providing opportunities for knowledge transfer from research to industry, and from industry back to research.
Our network has 5 Work Packages (WPs): WP1 Management; WP2 Training and Career Development; WP3 Dissemination; WP4 Re-mediating the Early Book: Selection; WP5 Re-mediating the Early Book: Value and Accessibility.
The 13 DCs, who were recruited in March 2023 and began their contracts in September 2023, have been conducting research towards their individual projects, each of which is thematically affiliated with either WP4 (Selection) or WP5 (Value and Accessibility). They have also received specialist training, including:
1) A 5-day in-person training programme on “Codicology and Bibliography” (Universty of Alicante, March 2024).
A 3-day online training programme on “Multimodality: Translation Studies and Linguistics” (University of Galway. May 2024).
A 1-day online training event on “Equality and Diversity in Medieval and Early Modern Studies” (University of Bristol, June 2024).
A 5-day in-person training programme on “Palaeography” (University of Vienna, September 2024).
A 4-day online training programme on “Textual Criticism” (Universities of Zurich and Bristol, November 2024).
Training has been centrally supported by WP1 and WP2 and delivered by local Doctoral Supervisors in conjunction with academic and industry specialists. In addition to the above, in January 2024, all DCs in beneficiary universities and in our Associated Partner Bristol prepared Career Development Plans (supported by WP1). Our Associated Partner Zürich has a different mechanism for career development planning that their DCs used as an equivalent alternative.
The 13 DCs, who were recruited in March 2023 and began their contracts in September 2023, have been conducting research towards their individual projects, each of which is thematically affiliated with either WP4 (Selection) or WP5 (Value and Accessibility). They have also received specialist training, including:
1) A 5-day in-person training programme on “Codicology and Bibliography” (Universty of Alicante, March 2024).
A 3-day online training programme on “Multimodality: Translation Studies and Linguistics” (University of Galway. May 2024).
A 1-day online training event on “Equality and Diversity in Medieval and Early Modern Studies” (University of Bristol, June 2024).
A 5-day in-person training programme on “Palaeography” (University of Vienna, September 2024).
A 4-day online training programme on “Textual Criticism” (Universities of Zurich and Bristol, November 2024).
Training has been centrally supported by WP1 and WP2 and delivered by local Doctoral Supervisors in conjunction with academic and industry specialists. In addition to the above, in January 2024, all DCs in beneficiary universities and in our Associated Partner Bristol prepared Career Development Plans (supported by WP1). Our Associated Partner Zürich has a different mechanism for career development planning that their DCs used as an equivalent alternative.
At present, the DCs are building their databases and corpuses. Interim updates and preliminary results have been communicated in conference papers and in regular posts by DCs on REBPAF's Wordpress blog (https://rebpaf.wordpress.com/(opens in new window)). For the full list of research outputs to date (including blog posts), see the “Research News” section of our website: https://universityofgalway.ie/rebpaf/news/(opens in new window)