University of Cambridge, UK
20–22nd Sep 2024
Deadline: 31st Mar 2024
The VIEWS project (Visual Interactions in Early Writing Systems) at the University of Cambridge is now accepting paper proposals for its first conference.
Writing is an intrinsically visual practice. How script looks—and how it is seen—are often of crucial importance. This conference asks how we may approach the study of the visual aspects of writing. What factors contribute to the way writing looks? How socially and culturally dependent are they? What difference does it make to think of writing as a visual phenomenon and practice? What sensory and aesthetic factors attend the production of written material and encounters with them, by people of differing levels of literacy?
This interdisciplinary conference will bring together scholars and practitioners from a diverse range of backgrounds and approaches to explore methodologies for studying these aspects of writing practices. We invite papers that address these questions from a wide range of perspectives (e.g., visual culture, archaeology, anthropology, linguistics, cognitive science, etc.). There are no chronological or geographical restrictions, and we are also keen to encourage participation from artists, designers, craftspeople and other practitioners in contemporary writing cultures.
The conference will be held at the University of Cambridge from 20–22 September 2024. Papers will be 30 minutes, followed by 15 minutes for questions and discussion. We intend for talks to be held in person, but hope to make online attendance possible. Proceedings will be published as an open access volume in the VIEWS project publication series.
Prospective participants should submit an abstract of around 250 words, together with their name and institutional affiliation, to views@classics.cam.ac.uk by 31 March.
For more information on the VIEWS project, please visit: www.viewsproject.wordpress.com
We look forward to hearing from you!
Dr Jordan Miller
Research Associate, Faculty of Classics
College Research Associate, St John’s College
Fellow, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research
University of Cambridge