Module manager: Dr N. Kıvılcım Yavuz
Email: N.K.Yavuz@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2025/26
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| HIST3025 | History of the Manuscript Book in the Digital Age |
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This module is approved as a discovery module
Technology is evolving at an unprecedented pace, reshaping how we study and engage with the past. Handwritten material from the Middle Ages might not immediately come to mind as beneficiaries of cutting-edge innovations like artificial intelligence or DNA sequencing, but this is far from the case. Over the last fifty years, digital tools and other advanced technologies have opened up exciting possibilities for exploring and understanding medieval manuscript culture. This module examines the history of the manuscript book in its material, cultural, and historical contexts, while investigating how emerging technologies are transforming the study, interpretation, and accessibility of these artefacts. Through hands-on engagement with medieval manuscripts and state-of-the-art tools, you will discover how technology not only enhances access but also enables new insights and scholarship in the field of written cultural heritage. Please note this is an optional module and runs subject to enrolments. If a low number of students choose this module, then the module may not run and you may be asked to choose another module.
The objective of the module is to examine the historical and cultural significance of medieval manuscripts while exploring how modern technologies enhance their study, interpretation, and accessibility. The module aims to equip you with the skills to connect traditional manuscript studies with innovative digital approaches. You will gain hands-on experience in working with medieval manuscripts, both by using primary sources housed at the Special Collections of the University of Leeds Libraries and by engaging with digital repositories, resources and methodologies.
On successful completion of the module you will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:
1. Identify key terms, concepts and current debates in manuscript studies and history of the book.
2. Investigate the historical and cultural significance of medieval manuscripts.
3. Analyse and interpret medieval manuscripts by applying both traditional and digital methodologies, navigating both physical and digital archives to extract and present information.
4. Critically assess the role of different technologies in the study, preservation, and interpretation of medieval manuscripts, including the use of digital tools and repositories for research.
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module you will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
5. Develop transferable digital skills to create, manage, communicate and share effective and engaging content to a variety of audiences.
6. Employ technology appropriately and ethically, identifying suitable technologies and digital platforms for discrete tasks.
7. Engage with new technologies and digital practices to solve problems, make informed decisions and address questions about cultural heritage.
Details of the syllabus will be provided on the Minerva organisation (or equivalent) for the module
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 5 | 1 | 5 |
| Practical | 5 | 2 | 10 |
| Seminar | 5 | 1 | 5 |
| Independent online learning hours | 20 | ||
| Private study hours | 160 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 20 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
You will submit a blogpost, designed as a critical encyclopaedia entry for a manuscript term as a formative assignment in advance of your summative assignments. You will receive peer-feedback as well as written feedback from the module leader for this formative assignment. You will each choose a different term to write on, allowing you to do in-depth research into concepts related to medieval manuscripts. You will then be providing feedback for your peers, which will further enable you to expand your learning by close reading of your peers’ writings. Peer feedback will also allow you to conduct close reading of the assessment criteria at the School and will provide you with opportunities to learn from each other.
You will be actively learning how to examine a variety of manuscripts and how to conduct research on manuscripts in addition to using a variety of digital tools and platforms through a variety of applied tasks throughout the module. The seminars and practicals themselves will provide opportunities to provide formative feedback as you develop your skills.
You will receive feedback on your first summative assignment (presentation) before you start developing your second summative assignment (digital exhibition), which you will use as a starting point for your digital exhibition. Therefore, feedback on summative work also has a key formative function.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Presentation with slides (recorded) | 40 |
| Coursework | Digital Exhibition | 60 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
In most cases, the form of resit will be the same as the original assessment. If there was a first attempt, you are required to choose different topics/case studies in consultation with the module convenor
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 22/07/2025
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team