Using original examples from the University of Leiden’s rich manuscript collection, problems of text transmission and methods of text edition will be discussed, with a focus on: (1) The internal history of texts: manuscripts and the methodology of accounting for variant readings in critical editions; and (2) The history of reception: the ways in which older texts are quoted, paraphrased or otherwise incorporated into the works of later authors and the methods of studying such intertextual phenomena. The function of written texts, issues of oral versus written transmission and textual authority will also be explored.
Timetable
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Method of Instruction
Seminar with assignments: paper and oral presentation.
Course objectives
Students will learn to navigate all the issues involved in the transmission of pre-modern Arabic texts, how critical editions are composed and changing attitudes towards authorship and criticism. They will become familiar with all the relevant reference works and secondary studies on the subject. Enhancing written and oral presentation skills will be an additional emphasis.
Required reading
Reader to be distributed in class.
Examination
The grade of the course consists of participation and presentation (40%) and a final paper (60%).
Students are required to write a paper of approximately 15 pages which should be completed before the end of the course. A draft version is to be presented and discussed during the course; the feedback given by the instructor and fellow students must be integrated into the final version.
The paper should consist of two parts:
An evaluation of either a specific text edition or a case study on an intertextual issue;
A critical edition of a sample of an unedited text available in several manuscripts.
Blackboard/webpage
Blackboard will be used for further information and to make course materials available.
Remarks
Several guest speakers will be invited during the course to discuss their experience with editing texts.