{"id":150,"date":"2021-10-11T11:56:13","date_gmt":"2021-10-11T11:56:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogit.utu.fi\/emodgral\/?p=150"},"modified":"2021-10-11T12:34:17","modified_gmt":"2021-10-11T12:34:17","slug":"the-beginnings-of-emodgral","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogit.utu.fi\/emodgral\/2021\/10\/11\/the-beginnings-of-emodgral\/","title":{"rendered":"The beginnings of EModGraL"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In a way, the Early Modern Graphic Literacies <\/em>project begun two years ago when our first research plan for this project was written. But our team has been interested in the interaction between the verbal and visual elements on the page for longer than that. This post takes a look at a selection of our previous work that led to the EModGraL project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"An
Astronomy: diagram of the path of comets. Engraving. Credit: Wellcome Collection<\/a>. Public Domain Mark<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The verbal and the visual<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Together with a team of colleagues, Matti Peikola<\/strong> and Mari-Liisa Varila<\/strong> examined copies of the English Polychronicon <\/em>in manuscript and print in an exploratory paper testing our \u2018pragmatics on the page\u2019 approach (2013).1<\/a><\/sup><\/span> This pilot study compared the varying visual forms of text employed in different copies (or utterances) of the same work. We explored four different strategies of highlighting text: \u201cchanging its colour, increasing or reducing its size, using a different style than that of its immediate environment, and positioning it in a location where it stands out from the body text\u201d (Carroll & al., p. 57). We also looked at the use of initials, borders, and paraphs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pilot study inspired us to organise a workshop in Turku called \u2018Linguistics meets book history: Seeking new approaches\u2019 in 2014. The workshop brought together an international group of scholars interested in the intersection of linguistics and book history as well as the interaction between the verbal and the visual on the manuscript and printed page \u2013 and beyond. The workshop led to the publication of a themed edited volume in 20172<\/a><\/sup><\/span> with an introduction by the editors examining the vocabulary used to study visual and material features.3<\/a><\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Individual team members have also discussed the interplay of verbal and visual elements in different kinds of primary materials. For example, Peikola (2011) discusses the transmission of Middle English tables of lessons and explores the spatial challenges of copying texts formatted as tables.4<\/a><\/sup><\/span> Varila\u2019s PhD dissertation on the transmission of scientific and utilitarian writing (2016) also touches upon copying tables and diagrams.5<\/a><\/sup><\/span> Aino Liira<\/strong> conducted a thorough survey of the verbal and visual presentation of the Polychronicon <\/em>in her PhD dissertation (2020).6<\/a><\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These previous explorations of the transmission of graphic devices and the interaction between the verbal and the visual partly inspired the Early Modern Graphic Literacies <\/em>approach. Another important starting point for EModGraL is the team members\u2019 work on paratext and metadiscourse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paratext and metadiscourse<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Together with Prof. Dr. Birte B\u00f6s<\/strong>, Peikola recently edited a volume focused on paratext, metadiscourse and framing7<\/a><\/sup><\/span> in which Varila also contributed a chapter on 16th-century book producers\u2019 comments on text-organisation.8<\/a><\/sup><\/span> Sirkku Ruokkeinen<\/strong> and Aino Liira\u2019s recent article (2019) highlights the importance of material practices for paratextual theory.9<\/a><\/sup><\/span> The team members\u2019 joint article (2020) on Christopher St German\u2019s Doctor and Student<\/em> examines the changes and continuities of the paratextual frame of a single work in editions published 1528\u20131886.10<\/a><\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In EModGraL, the team will study metadiscourse related to graphic devices, for example captions and other instructions for the reader\/user. Our previous work on paratext and metadiscourse inspired this line of questioning and will help us identify and analyse such passages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

…and beyond<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our previous work gives us a starting point, but we have a lot to learn. In addition to historical linguistics and book studies, insights from fields such as diagram studies, digital humanities, and history of science (to name a few) will inform our work. We look forward to discussing the history of graphic devices with scholars from different fields as the project progresses!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mari-Liisa Varila<\/em> | Twitter: @mlvarila<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/div>
1. <\/span>Carroll Ruth, Matti Peikola, Hanna Salmi, Mari-Liisa Varila, Janne Skaffari & Risto Hiltunen 2013. Pragmatics on the page: Visual text in late medieval English books. European Journal of English Studies 17(1), 54\u201371. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/13825577.2013.755006<\/span><\/div>
2. <\/span>Peikola Matti, Aleksi M\u00e4kil\u00e4hde, Hanna Salmi, Mari-Liisa Varila & Janne Skaffari (eds) 2017. Verbal and Visual Communication in Early English Texts. Utrecht Studies in Medieval Literacy (USML 37). Turnhout: Brepols.<\/span><\/div>
3. <\/span>Varila Mari-Liisa, Hanna Salmi, Aleksi M\u00e4kil\u00e4hde, Janne Skaffari & Matti Peikola 2017. Disciplinary decoding: Towards understanding the language of visual and material features. In Matti Peikola et al. (eds) 2017, Verbal and Visual Communication in Early English Texts. Utrecht Studies in Medieval Literacy (USML 37). Turnhout: Brepols, 1\u201320.<\/span><\/div>
4. <\/span>Peikola Matti 2011. Copying space, length of entries, and textual transmission in Middle English tables of lessons. In Jacob Thaisen & Hanna Rutkowska (eds), Scribes, Printers, and the Accidentals of their Texts. Studies in English Medieval Language and Literature 33. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 107\u2013124.<\/span><\/div>
5. <\/span>Varila Mari-Liisa 2016. In search of textual boundaries: A case study on the transmission of scientific writing in 16th-century England. PhD dissertation, Turku: University of Turku. The lectio praecursoria of the doctoral defence was published in Neuphilologische Mitteilungen 117(2), 443\u2013448.<\/span><\/div>
6. <\/span>Liira Aino 2020. Paratextuality in manuscript and print: Verbal and visual presentation of the Middle English Polychronicon. PhD dissertation, Turku: University of Turku. https:\/\/www.utupub.fi\/handle\/10024\/149454<\/span><\/div>
7. <\/span>Peikola Matti & Birte B\u00f6s (eds) 2020. The Dynamics of Text and Framing Phenomena. Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 317. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. https:\/\/benjamins.com\/catalog\/pbns.317<\/span><\/div>
8. <\/span>Varila Mari-Liisa 2020. Book producers\u2019 comments on text-organisation in early 16th-century English printed paratexts. In Matti Peikola & Birte B\u00f6s (eds), The Dynamics of Text and Framing Phenomena. Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 317. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 209\u2013229.https:\/\/research.utu.fi\/converis\/portal\/detail\/Publication\/50044955?lang=fi_FI<\/span><\/div>
9. <\/span>Ruokkeinen Sirkku & Aino Liira 2019. Material approaches to exploring the borders of paratext. Textual Cultures: Texts, Contexts, Interpretation 11(1\u20132), 106\u2013129. http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.14434\/textual.v11i1-2.23302.<\/span><\/div>
10. <\/span>Varila Mari-Liisa, Sirkku Ruokkeinen, Aino Liira & Matti Peikola 2020. Paratextual presentation of Christopher St German\u2019s Doctor and Student 1528\u20131886. In Caroline Tagg & Mel Evans, Message and Medium. English Language Practices across Old and New Media. Topics in English Linguistics 105. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton, 232\u2013252. https:\/\/research.utu.fi\/converis\/portal\/detail\/Publication\/46820715?lang=fi_FI<\/span><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a way, the Early Modern Graphic Literacies project begun two years ago when our first research plan for this project was written. But our team has been interested in the interaction between the verbal and visual elements on the page for longer than that. This post takes a look at a selection of our … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “The beginnings of EModGraL”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":322,"featured_media":207,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[18,21,15,27],"class_list":["post-150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-project-updates","tag-methodology","tag-project-updates","tag-publications","tag-research-team"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogit.utu.fi\/emodgral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogit.utu.fi\/emodgral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogit.utu.fi\/emodgral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogit.utu.fi\/emodgral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/322"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogit.utu.fi\/emodgral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/blogit.utu.fi\/emodgral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":213,"href":"https:\/\/blogit.utu.fi\/emodgral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150\/revisions\/213"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogit.utu.fi\/emodgral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogit.utu.fi\/emodgral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogit.utu.fi\/emodgral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogit.utu.fi\/emodgral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}