Shows
The Rosenbach PodcastTreasure House: Exploring the Library Collections of Chatsworth, Ancestral Home of the Dukes of DevonshireMany of the treasures Dr. A.S.W. Rosenbach purchased for his own library and to sell to wealthy clients once belonged to aristocratic British families. Dr. Rosenbach paid many visits to the United Kingdom, purchasing volumes from book-rich, cash-poor landed families. This heritage, documented in the archives of the Rosenbach Company held at the Rosenbach Museum & Library today, raises an important question. What role did (and do) country house libraries play in preserving England’s books, manuscripts, and other literary and historical treasures?
In this transatlantic episode of The Rosenbach Podcast, Dr. Alexander Lawrence Ames interviews Fra...
2024-12-0245 minThe Rosenbach PodcastEpisode 23: Golden Cross: Relics of Imperial Spain and Independent Mexico at the Rosenbach.The Rosenbach Museum & Library is home to a large and important collections of rare books and manuscripts documenting the history of colonial New Spain and early independent Mexico. Ithis episode of The Rosenbach Podcast, Carlos G. Obrador Garrido Cuesta, Head Consul of the Consulate of Mexico in Philadelphia, joins podcast host Dr. Alexander Lawrence Ames and Rosenbach Development Associate Sara Potts for a conversation about the history and present-day state of Mexican/U.S. relations, and the role of cultural institutions like the Rosenbach in helping bridge divides between communities. The Head Consul also shares his own reflections on hi...
2023-02-2130 min
Cloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts PodcastEpisode 36: The Place of Rare Book and Special Collections Libraries in the Research University: A Conversation with Dr. Paul J. Erickson.Special collections libraries and archives shape the work of historians and other researchers by preserving and making accessible the records of our shared past. Yet they are also complex, vibrant institutions immersed in the changing social, cultural, academic, and information landscape of the 21st century. What challenges and opportunities to special collections libraries face, especially in an era of rapidly evolving information technology? How do different kinds of libraries and archives—from those situated at major universities to small, independent operations—address these opportunities and challenges? In this special conversation with Dr. Paul J. Erickson, the Randolph G. Adams Dire...
2022-12-1749 min
Cloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts PodcastEpisode 35: The Digital Revolution in Special Collections Access: Assessing the Present State and Future Prospects of Collections Digitization with Christopher Ridgway.Rare book libraries, archives, and museums find themselves in the midst of a digitization revolution, which is shifting discoverability of, and access to, their collections, and bringing about a transformation in institutions’ conceptions of their place within the social world. These trends have become even more pronounced on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic, which changed expectations for the special collections library user experience. In this episode of Cloister Talk, we’ll take a peek behind the curtain of digitization efforts at the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan, where technicians recently digitized the Holstein family acco...
2022-12-1738 min
Cloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts PodcastEpisode 34: The William L. Clements Library: Exploring the University of Michigan’s Library of Early American History and Culture.The William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan is a world-renowned repository for the study of early American history—holding artifacts including the Pennsylvania German Holstein family’s account and penmanship exercise book discussed in the previous episode of Cloister Talk. In this special roundtable discussion, we’ll go behind the scenes into the work of the Clements Library to preserve treasures of American history with members of the Library’s distinguished staff. We also discuss the staff members’ favorite objects in the collection, and how they interact with University of Michigan students and the general public.
2022-12-171h 06
Cloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts PodcastEpisode 32: Design History as Cultural History: A Conversation About Pennsylvania German Design with Historian and Artist Rachel E. Yoder.One of the most wonderful things about Pennsylvania German Studies is its interdisciplinary nature, and its bringing together of scholarly study with artistic and craft practice. In this exciting episode of Cloister Talk, accomplished artist Rachel Yoder discusses the origins of her passion for Pennsylvania German/Pennsylvania Dutch design and how the visual arts connect her to a Pennsylvania Dutch family heritage. We discuss Rachel’s new book Pennsylvania Dutch Design: A History of Kitsch, Folk Art, & More, as well as how historical research informs Rachel’s work. This conversation will inspire you to pick up a quill and pain...
2022-12-171h 48
Cloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts PodcastEpisode 33: The Holstein Family Account Book: Studying a Manuscript Artifact of Pennsylvania German Life at the William L. Clements Library of the University of Michigan.Resources to study the history of Pennsylvania German material texts exist in institutions all around the nation and world, and it behooves scholars to look beyond the best-known repositories in southeastern Pennsylvania in order to discover underutilized and undiscovered resources. It also is in historians’ best interest to make use of examples of Pennsylvania German calligraphy and penmanship that may not rank as the most beautiful examples of the art form but push us to understand Frakturschrift calligraphy in a broader social-historical context. The Holstein family account and penmanship practice book at the William L. Clements Library of the Un...
2022-12-1740 min
Cloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts PodcastEpisode 29: Studying Pennsylvania German Manuscript Culture in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, an Early-American Cultural Crossroads. Results of a Week of Research at LancasterHistory.Lancaster, Pennsylvania has been a diverse cultural crossroads for centuries, and the immense collections of LancasterHistory document the history of calligraphy, penmanship, and literacy education in this important urban center of Pennsylvania German life. In this episode of Cloister Talk, we’ll explore the penmanship and calligraphy collections at LancasterHistory to reflect on how they can inform our interpretations of rural Pennsylvania German “fraktur” manuscripts. The episode also includes a discussion of research methodologies and a consideration of scholarly trends in the interpretation of Pennsylvania German manuscript culture. Learn more about LancasterHistory at https://www.lancasterhistory.org/.
2022-12-1731 min
Cloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts PodcastEpisode 31: Pennsylvania Germans and Other Early American Ethnic, Racial, Linguistic, and Cultural Communities: A Conversation with Dr. Leroy Hopkins.If any single theme or idea emerges from consideration of the history of Lancaster County, it is the possibilities, and perils, of intense ethnic, racial, linguistic, and cultural interaction. From the earliest settlement of the area by European settler-colonizers all the way through to the present day, Lancaster County is a remarkably multifaceted community. Reflective of broader trends in America history, the cultural mixing that occurred in the region resulted in horrifying violence and remarkable displays of the pluralism that in many ways is distinctive of the American experience. The guest on this episode of the podcast, Dr. Leroy...
2022-12-171h 22
Cloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts PodcastEpisode 30: Pennsylvania German Studies as an Interdisciplinary Enterprise: A Conversation About Musicology, Performance, and the Scholarly Life with Dr. Christopher Dylan Herbert.One of the most wonderful things about Pennsylvania German studies is the opportunity they open for interdisciplinary research. In fact, interdisciplinary perspectives that draw on multiple theories, methodological approaches, and research skill sets are required to develop a fulsome view of Pennsylvania German culture. In this episode of Cloister Talk, musicologist Dr. Christopher Dylan Herbert grants us special insights into his research focused on the music of the Ephrata community. We consider Dr. Herbert’s inspirations for exploring Ephrata’s rich and complex musical heritage, the findings of his research, and the value of interdisciplinary methods in a shifting scho...
2022-12-171h 00
Cloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts PodcastEpisode 27: Pennsylvania German Studies: Assessing the State of the Field with Patrick J. Donmoyer, Director of the Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania.Season 4 of Cloister Talk is devoted to the consideration of the past, present, and future of Pennsylvania German Studies. In this inaugural episode of the new season, Patrick J. Donmoyer of the Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania offers a broad-ranging assessment of the state of the interdisciplinary set of fields that comprise Pennsylvania German Studies. In this fulsome conversation, we discuss the historical origins of Pennsylvania German Studies in their current form, the most vibrant modern-day research areas, and Donmoyer’s recommendations for new pathways in the field. We also dive into Donmoyer’s own...
2022-12-151h 39
Cloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts PodcastEpisode 28: Religious Landscapes in Early America: A Conversation About Johannes Kelpius with Dr. Timothy Grieve-Carlson.There are few characters from early Pennsylvania history more mysterious and fascinating than Johannes Kelpius, “the hermit of the Wissahickon” whose intellectual and spiritual life is the stuff of legend, centuries after his death. Kelpius embodied many of the deep traditions of European religious devotional life that found expression in early Pennsylvania—Pietism and mysticism included. In this episode of Cloister Talk, Dr. Timothy Grieve-Carlson welcomes us into the world of Kelpius’s spirituality as it connects to early modern understandings of nature and the environment and discusses Kelpius’s lasting resonance as a religious pioneer of sorts. Professor Grieve-Car...
2022-12-151h 39
Tudors Dynasty & BeyondHands-On History: Rosenbach Museum & LibraryIn this episode of HoH, Heather chats with Dr. Alexander Lawrence Ames. Dr. Ames is the Associate Curator at the Rosenbach Museum & Library in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The Rosenbach creates programs and exhibitions inspired by a collection of nearly 400,000 rare books, manuscripts, and fine and decorative arts objects, including some of the best-known literary and historical objects in the world.
https://rosenbach.org
Find the Rosenbach Podcast HERE
Credits:
Host: Heather R. Darsie - Twitter
Guest: Dr. Alexander L. Ames - Twitter
Edited by: Rebecca Larson - Twitter
V...
2022-07-2621 min
The Rosenbach PodcastEp. 1 | The Celtic Muse: Afternoon Tea, Scones, and Celtic Harp with Dr. Alexander Lawrence Ames, Host of The Rosenbach PodcastHow can rare books and special collections like those held at The Rosenbach speak to modern-day American life? Why are material artifacts important in understanding our cultures’ history and future? In the first episode of The Rosenbach Podcast, join host Dr. Alexander Lawrence Ames for an evocative voyage into The Rosenbach’s collections of American and British history and literature. Dr. Ames introduces books on The Rosenbach’s shelves by famous authors Edna St. Vincent Millay and Sir Walter Scott to consider representations of gender and family in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, before reflecting on what the work of Edna St. Vincent Millay has t...
2021-12-0132 min
Cloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts PodcastA Second Cup of Afternoon Tea with Alexander Lawrence Ames: Answering Questions about The Word in the Wilderness, and Some Closing Reflections on the BookAt the close of Season 3 of Cloister Talk, sit back and relax with a hot cup of tea to reflect on Pennsylvania German manuscript culture and popular piety in early America, and future directions for the study of early American cultural and intellectual history. Reader and listener-submitted questions considered in this episode include the implications of The Word in the Wilderness for our understanding of the changing place of cursive handwriting instruction in American schools today, shifting approaches to the scholarly study of Pennsylvania German calligraphy and manuscript illumination advocated in The Word in the Wilderness, and possible reasons for...
2021-07-0324 minCloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts PodcastCloister Talk Live! Dr. Franklin’s Library: A Conversation with James N. Green, Librarian Emeritus of the Library Company of PhiladelphiaFounded by Benjamin Franklin, the Library Company of Philadelphia is the thriving epicenter of early American book history, and the inspiration of librarianship in America. James N. Green, Librarian Emeritus of the Library Company and a scholar of early American book history, introduces us to the history of the Library Company, the contours of its Pennsylvania German collections, and possible futures for the fields of material texts, Pennsylvania German studies, and cultural heritage preservation broadly conceived. Sharing personal memories of his long and distinguished career in librarianship and the history of material texts, Green also reflects on the unique lib...
2021-06-261h 17Cloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts PodcastCloister Talk Live! A Mystical Heritage: A Conversation with Allen Viehmeyer and Candace Perry of the Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage CenterMysticism is a central (if complex, debated, and often misconstrued) part of the religious DNA of early German Pennsylvania. The theology and devotional practice of the Schwenkfelders—a German-speaking sectarian group present in the colony—connected to early modern European mystical tradition in important ways, and the religious community practiced a rich manuscript tradition. This episode of Cloister Talk Live! takes us to the Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center to dive into the Library’s astounding rare book, manuscript, and decorative art collections. Curators and scholars Candace Perry and Allen Viehmeyer introduce us to the institution’s holdings, consider how they relate t...
2021-06-191h 00Cloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts PodcastCloister Talk Live! Incense Hill: A Conversation with Kerry Mohn and Michael Showalter of Historic Ephrata Cloister
Few landmarks of early Pennsylvania heritage inspire awe and capture the imagination quite like Historic Ephrata Cloister in Lancaster County—a place of architectural beauty, spiritual devotion, mystical exploration, musical accomplishment, and tremendous historical significance to early-American book production and the manuscript arts. Ephrata Curator Kerry Mohn and Museum Educator Michael Showalter guide us through the history and significance of Ephrata and help us place the site within the wider context of early American religion and material culture.
2021-06-1332 minCloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts PodcastCloister Talk Live! Books Along the Brandywine: A Conversation with Emily Guthrie, Formerly of The Winterthur LibraryNestled amid the rolling hills and verdant landscape of the Brandywine River Valley in Delaware, The Winterthur Library brims with rare books and manuscripts documenting material life in America, including early German Pennsylvania. Join Emily Guthrie, who until recently served as Director and NEH Librarian at The Winterthur Library, for a conversation about this remarkable repository of American history and culture, and how The Winterthur Library fits into the work of the Winterthur Museum and its surrounding 1,000-acre country estate. Ms. Guthrie, who recently took over as Librarian at the Library Company of Philadelphia, introduces us to the rich coll...
2021-06-0541 minCloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts PodcastCloister Talk Live! From The Rosenbach’s West Library: Religion and Early American Material Texts, from Cambridge, Massachusetts to Mexico CityRare books at The Rosenbach showcase the incredible religious diversity throughout the Americas in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. This episode of Cloister Talk brings us to the atmospheric West Library at The Rosenbach, to examine a few material texts that witness this early history, including The Rosenbach’s iconic copy of the Bay Psalm Book as well as its remarkable Doctrina breve, printed in Mexico City.
2021-05-3109 minCloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts PodcastCloister Talk Live! At The Rosenbach: The Other Pennsylvania Germans? A Discussion of Early Southeastern Pennsylvania’s Jewish Community with Judith M. GustonThe multicultural life of early Pennsylvania included a vibrant Jewish community. Judith M. Guston, Curator & Director of Collections at The Rosenbach, discusses early Jewish settlement of the colony and the remarkable Gratz family holdings at The Rosenbach today, which document that early heritage. Ms. Guston also comments on the theoretical and methodological challenges of adopting a material culture approach to the study of past religious and spiritual life, and the meaning of early Pennsylvania’s religious plurality for American society today.
2021-05-2324 minCloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts PodcastCloister Talk Live! Exploring the Free Library of Philadelphia Rare Book Department, one of the Great Collections of Pennsylvania German Text Culture, with Janine Pollock and Caitlin GoodmanThe Parkway Central Library of the Free Library of Philadelphia is a majestic urban monument to literacy, learning, and robust civic discourse. What is more, the Rare Book Department at the Free Library ranks as one of the nation’s most important repositories of rare books, manuscripts, and other treasures of the history of human civilization. Its vast Pennsylvania German collection supported the interpretive work undertaken in The Word in the Wilderness. In this Cloister Talk Live! episode, librarians Janine Pollock and Caitlin Goodman welcome us into the world of the Rare Book Department and reflect on the significance of stew...
2021-05-1726 minCloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts PodcastCloister Talk Live! Volksbibliothek: A Conversation with Dr. Maria Sturm and Bettina Hess of the German Society of Pennsylvania LibraryFew library spaces glimmer with the sense of historicity and culture that the Horner Memorial Library at the German Society of Pennsylvania exudes. In this episode of Cloister Talk Live!, join historian and former German Society of Pennsylvania Library Committee Chair Dr. Maria Sturm, along with Society Librarian Bettina Hess, for an introduction to the historic library, its collections, and its work to make German-American history and culture accessible to all. Sturm and Hess highlight some of the fascinating holdings of the Library and reflect on the significance of the Library to understanding Philadelphia’s ethnic heritage.
2021-05-1031 minCloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts PodcastCloister Talk Live! The Faith That Binds: A Conversation on Anabaptist Bookbindings with Chela Metzger and Erin HammekeHow can material artifacts be wielded as tools for unlocking the lived experiences of past spiritual-devotional cultures? In this inaugural episode of Cloister Talk Live!, join book conservators Chela Metzger (University of California Los Angeles Library) and Erin Hammeke (Duke University Library) for a conversation about Swiss-Anabaptist bookbindings in early Pennsylvania—and what the books reveal about past personal and social relationships with God. The interviewees also discuss the state of book history as an interdisciplinary enterprise and offer advice for what it might take to bring historians, material culture scholars, and conservators together, to make optimal use of interd...
2021-05-0337 minCloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts PodcastCloister Talk Season 3 Teaser TrailerSeason 3 of Cloister Talk will begin on Monday, May 3, 2021, and will feature ten brand-new episodes that expand on themes and concepts explored in The Word in the Wilderness: Popular Piety and the Manuscript Arts in Early Pennsylvania, published by the Pennsylvania State University Press in 2020. This season of Cloister Talk is being launched in anticipation of the release of an affordable, paperback version of The Word in the Wilderness during summer, 2021. Season 3 offers some exciting, and different, features for fans of the first two seasons of Cloister Talk. Listen to the trailer to learn more.
2021-04-0903 minCloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts PodcastAfternoon Tea with Alexander Lawrence Ames: Answering Your Questions about Writing The Word in the Wilderness, and a Life Spent in Libraries and MuseumsWriting The Word in the Wilderness: Popular Piety and the Manuscript Arts in Early Pennsylvania, especially sharing the book’s ideas with audiences from across Pennsylvania and around the world, has truly been a journey undertaken in community. At the conclusion of Season 2 of Cloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts Podcast, it’s time to sit back, relax, and reflect on the book, the primary sources that made its analysis possible, and what The Word in the Wilderness and Pennsylvania German illuminated manuscripts have to teach us today. Make a hot cup of tea and settle in for a fasc...
2021-03-0116 minCloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts Podcast"Errand Into the Wilderness": What Pennsylvania German Illuminated Manuscripts Mean in American HistoryA key topic addressed in The Word in the Wilderness: Popular Piety and the Manuscript Arts in Early Pennsylvania is how a deeper understanding of the spiritual underpinnings of the Pennsylvania German manuscript arts can add nuance to our interpretation of early American religious and cultural life. This episode of Cloister Talk explores that issue in greater depth, using Samuel Pennypacker’s book Pennsylvania in American History and intellectual historian Perry Miller’s famous work Errand Into the Wilderness as case studies for our analysis.
2021-02-2214 minCloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts PodcastThe Pennsylvania Pilgrim: Fireside Poet John Greenleaf Whittier's Interpretation of the Pennsylvania German, Quaker, and Early Abolitionist Francis Daniel PastoriusThe famous Quaker Fireside Poet John Greenleaf Whittier had a special passion for Pennsylvania history, which he expressed in his famous poem “The Pennsylvania Pilgrim.” Learn about Whittier’s interest in Pennsylvania religious heritage, his interpretation of the famous Pennsylvania settler Francis Daniel Pastorius, and what Whittier’s nineteenth-century poem reveals about the collective memory of the United States.
2021-02-1513 minCloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts PodcastA Lesson in Early Modern Linguistic Theory with Johann Merken, and Its Implications for the Study of Material TextsThe history of material texts naturally intersects with the history of language—and linguistic theory. Drawing on fascinating artifacts held at the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library at St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota, this episode of Cloister Talk offers useful transatlantic intellectual-historical context for the place of German language (spoken, written, and printed) in the early-modern European world.
2021-02-0818 minCloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts PodcastJohann Gottfried Weber and Johannes Bard: Two Characters in the 18th-century Transatlantic World of ManuscriptsPennsylvania Germans figured prominently in a transatlantic world of copying and exchanging artistic, devotional texts. This episode of Cloister Talk examines intricate and remarkable artifacts of this culture of copying, drawing on resources from the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library at St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota, and the Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library in Winterthur, Delaware.
2021-02-0111 minCloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts PodcastManuscripts in Focus: Birth and Baptismal CertificatesReligious rituals and the commemoration of life events found rich expression in Pennsylvania German print and manuscript culture, especially on documents known as birth and baptismal certificates. This episode of Cloister Talk offers a detailed analysis of the certificate genre and considers how it connects to other Pennsylvania German material texts.
2021-01-2514 minCloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts PodcastManuscripts in Focus: Tune BooksMusic has always figured prominently in Pennsylvania German religious culture, making it unsurprising that the musical and calligraphic arts intersected in potent ways during the Long Era of Manuscripts. In this episode of Cloister Talk, take a journey into the rich musical heritage of German Protestantism and its expressions in southeastern Pennsylvania.
2021-01-1716 minCloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts PodcastManuscripts in Focus: Penmanship SamplesPennsylvania German manuscript penmanship samples are some of the most engaging, text-rich, and religiously-significant devotional documents created during the Long Era of Manuscripts in early Pennsylvania. This episode offers an in-depth introduction to the manuscript genre.
2021-01-1115 minCloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts PodcastThe Pirate Bible: An Epic Tale of Looted Germantown Bibles, and What It Reveals About Pennsylvania German Religion in a Vast Atlantic WorldPennsylvania German religious culture existed within a vast, complex, fluid, and interconnected world of German-Protestant spirituality and text exchange. Perhaps no artifact better exemplifies this heritage than a Pennsylvania-printed Bible held at the Free Library of Philadelphia that was once captured by pirates on its voyage to Europe! Listen to this remarkable story—and learn what it has to teach us about early American religion and history of the book.
2021-01-0411 minCloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts PodcastCloister Talk Season 2 Teaser TrailerSeason Two of Cloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts Podcast debuts on Monday, January 4, 2021. In this trailer, learn about what questions and topics will be explored in the upcoming season, and about what primary sources you can expect to learn in the new episodes.
2020-12-1402 minCloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts Podcast"Eines Christen Reise": Origins of The Word in the WildernessIn this final episode of the first season of Cloister Talk, learn about the research and writing process that led to the publication of The Word in the Wilderness: Popular Piety and the Manuscript Arts in Early Pennsylvania.
2020-08-0311 minCloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts Podcast"The Root of Wisdom is to Fear the Lord": Wisdom Literature and Pennsylvania German Manuscript CultureOld Testament wisdom literature looms large over the Pennsylvania German manuscript arts. Learn about the historical significance of the wisdom literature as part of Pennsylvania German popular piety, and why the wisdom books provided such rich source material for scribes.
2020-07-2710 minCloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts PodcastManuscript Culture Beyond Pennsylvania: Traditions in Asia, the Islamic World, Early Modern Europe, Great Britain, and the AmericasThink that the Pennsylvania Germans were alone in their embrace of calligraphy and manuscript illumination as part of their spiritual enterprise? Think again. In this episode, learn about other cultures and communities around the world that employed the manuscript arts as culturally-resonant components of their popular piety long after the so-called "Age of Print" was well underway.
2020-07-2012 minCloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts PodcastWhat is "Manuscript Culture"? Reframing Pennsylvania German Manuscript Studies as a Sub-field of Book HistoryThe study of Pennsylvania German illuminated manuscripts has long lacked a coherent theoretical and methodological foundation that situates the enterprise into wider scholarly conversations about religion, language, text, and culture. This episode proposes new approaches to unlocking the meaning of Pennsylvania German manuscripts, grounded in recent advancements in study of the history of texts as material artifacts.
2020-07-1310 minCloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts PodcastWho Were the Pennsylvania Germans, and Why do They Matter?Pennsylvania German religious, spiritual, and cultural traditions were extremely complex. This episode offers a quick primer on many of the various German-speaking groups that resided in early Pennsylvania and explores their connection to the devotional manuscript arts.
2020-07-0618 minCloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts PodcastWhat is "Fraktur"? Type, Script, and ArtThis episode explores the many meanings of the word "Fraktur" in its European and American contexts and considers how best to deploy the term when discussing the manuscript art of the Pennsylvania Germans.
2020-06-2915 minCloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts PodcastThe History of Studying Pennsylvania Germans and Their Illuminated ManuscriptsThis episode introduces listeners to trends in the study of Pennsylvania German illuminated manuscripts, commonly called "Fraktur."
2020-06-2214 min