The Material Spectre; An Application of Actor-Network Theory’s Model of ‘Translation’ to Mediaeval Manuscript Digitisation and the ‘Virtual Reading Room.’

Digitisation has become an intrinsic part of the modern access to mediaeval manuscripts. Although the advantages of the digital format are numerous, there is also a lot of contention in the literature about the intended and unintended effects that the shift to mass digitisation and the increased use of digital manuscripts for research represent. Amongst these, the lack of ‘aura’ has pushed digitisation specialists and researchers to find ways to restore the aspects of physical manuscripts that tend to become lost in the primarily visual format of the digital ‘surrogate.’ Yet at the same time, new perspectives about ‘digital materiality’ suggest that the digital manuscript possesses an entirely unique set of ‘material’ traits, able to differently and independently inform human-manuscript experiences. The objective of this thesis is to add to the discussion by applying the methodology of Actor-Network Theory and its concept of ‘translation’ to the study of ‘digital materiality’ and ...Show moreDigitisation has become an intrinsic part of the modern access to mediaeval manuscripts. Although the advantages of the digital format are numerous, there is also a lot of contention in the literature about the intended and unintended effects that the shift to mass digitisation and the increased use of digital manuscripts for research represent. Amongst these, the lack of ‘aura’ has pushed digitisation specialists and researchers to find ways to restore the aspects of physical manuscripts that tend to become lost in the primarily visual format of the digital ‘surrogate.’ Yet at the same time, new perspectives about ‘digital materiality’ suggest that the digital manuscript possesses an entirely unique set of ‘material’ traits, able to differently and independently inform human-manuscript experiences. The objective of this thesis is to add to the discussion by applying the methodology of Actor-Network Theory and its concept of ‘translation’ to the study of ‘digital materiality’ and ‘agency’ in digitised manuscripts. Through it an argument is made that the ‘lives’ of these digital materials should not be assessed based on their differences to their original counterparts, but that they possess an ability of influence as extant cultural and technological actors that is often unintended and overlooked. By deconstructing the web of actors and networks present in the digitisation process, a theoretical foundation can be constructed around the ‘materiality’ of the digital manuscript and its interactions with the practical and cultural environment of contemporary digital manuscript use. This methodology is applied here to the case of the EcodicesNL ‘Virtual Reading Room’ project (launched in 2023), based on Michel Callon’s model of ‘translation’ in Actor-Network Theory. Through its results follows a discussion of how ‘agency’ is expressed in the digital manuscript entity, and its influence on the ever-changing web of human and non-human actors that it interacts with.Show less

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The Material Spectre; An Application of Actor-Network Theory’s Model of ‘Translation’ to Mediaeval Manuscript Digitisation and the ‘Virtual Reading Room.’