Scripta

Directors : Andréas Stauder (EPHE), Philip Huyse (EPHE), Charlotte Schmid (EFEO)

Lead institutions : EPHE, EFEO

Our current landscape is marked by a major shift in the civilization of the written word, due both to the digital revolution and the globalization of writing. In response to the challenges and opportunities this represents, the Scripta-PSL program aims to integrate the fundamental sciences of the written word (paleography, codicology, epigraphy, history of the book, etc.) and other social and human sciences (linguistics, history, anthropology, etc.) into the digital and computational humanities in relation to the study of the written word. Hosted by the EPHE and EFEO and with contributions by ENS, ENC, EHESS, Collège de France and IRHT, the program includes “Research,” “Digital and Computational Humanities,” “Training,” and “Rare Languages” subsets.

Research focuses on six main areas: “Scripts and language - linguistics of the written word,” “’Pages - visual fields for reading,” “Exposed writings - inscriptions in space,” “Ancient and modern documentary practice", “Circulation of the written word - canonization process”,  and “Challenges in digital scholarly publishing.” The digital section will develop machine vision tools (for handwriting recognition and document analysis, for example) and tools for (semi)-automatic classification of symbols and texts, with a focus on pre-typographical and/or non-alphabetic cultures. The “rare languages and writings” section will provide additional inquiry into written traditions not currently well represented at the University.