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Manuscript Heritage Problems and Preservation Strategies

Manuscript Heritage Problems and Preservation Strategies. About the Presenter My project Thoughts on Heritage Preservation Ethiopian Manuscript Heritage Issues Affecting Manuscript Survival Photographic Archiving of Documents Challenges to the Photographic Archiving of Documents Strategies

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Manuscript Heritage Problems and Preservation Strategies

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  1. Manuscript Heritage Problems and Preservation Strategies • About the Presenter • My project • Thoughts on Heritage Preservation • Ethiopian Manuscript Heritage • Issues Affecting Manuscript Survival • Photographic Archiving of Documents • Challenges to the Photographic Archiving of Documents • Strategies • Contact Info

  2. Sean M. Winslow ሾን፤ዊንስሎ • Doctoral Candidate, Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Toronto • MA Medieval Studies, Book History, and Print Culture, Univ. of Toronto • BA History (European), U. of California • Researcher, Institute for Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa University • 2008-2009 U. S. Fulbright Scholar

  3. “Ethiopic Manuscript Culture and its European Analogues”(2008-2009 Fulbright Project)‏ • Interview-based attempt to recover craftsmanly knowledge about the historic and current scribal and book arts of Ethiopia • Integrating Ethiopian manuscript practices into world narrative of book history

  4. Thoughts on Heritage Preservation • There is more heritage left in Ethiopia than most people give credit for, but it is hard to access. • Lack of cataloguing and archiving makes it impossible to determine what and how much is leaving the country. • Items still in the country are at risk from poor storage and handling conditions. • “Don't add water to a leaky tub.” Focus on preserving what is in Ethiopia before attempting to return artifacts in foreign collections. To be blunt: many are safer abroad, at least for the moment.

  5. Ethiopian Manuscript Heritage

  6. Issues Affecting Manuscript Survival • Poor Storage Conditions • Lack of Proper Handling • Alienation / Sale • Secrecy

  7. Photographic Archiving of Documents • Serves as proof of ownership of alienated documents for sale on international markets • Allows access to documents without destructive handling or expensive travel • Allows quick assessmnet of contents and conservation status

  8. Challenges to the Photographic Archiving of Documents • Culture of Secrecy • Issues of trust and responsibility in local communities: “Foreigners stole it.” • Institutional resistance: Culture/Tourism and Patriarchy • Limited resources • Xenophobia: primarily done by those foreign to country / local communities • Insufficient infrastructure to provide adequate local access to photographed materials

  9. Strategies • Heritage conservation requires Ethiopians to work on an Ethiopian problem • Foreign work is helpful and necessary, but limited in its ability to access local communities and power structures • Convince key officials, starting at the local level, of the need to encourage the documentation and cataloguing of manuscript and other heritage • Work to educate those responsible for heritage in the proper care and treatment of the items which they conserve • Put more heritage in a public light to raise awareness and deter theft and alienation • Support practitioners of traditional crafts materially and with encouragement

  10. Contact Info • Email: sean.winslow@utoronto.ca • Cellular: 0910 11 37 75 • Website: http://www.larkvi.com • Mail: Centre for Medieval Studies, U of T 125 Queen's Park, 3rd Floor Toronto, Ontario M5S 2C3 CANADA

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