Workshop announcement: The World in Pieces: Fragments and the Fragmentary

23rd – 24th January 2020, Leiden University, Netherlands

Short talks with audience Q+A, Thursday 23rd January, 14.00-17.30

Workshop, Friday 24th January, 9.30-17.30

The process of fragmentation is not isolated to any single academic discipline. Loss and incompleteness in data can arise in all manner of ways, from inadequate experimental methods to historical processes. Fragmentary material is found in many areas of both the sciences and the humanities, and across disciplines there is a consistent desire to make use of such material, despite the difficulties, by using different techniques to render it into usable data.

We have invited specialists in fragments from a wide range of disciplines to explain how they engage with fragments, what particular methodological challenges the fragmentary poses for them, and what wider conceptual issues their treatment of fragments highlights. On Thursday 23rd January these specialists will be presenting specific case-studies in brief segments about issues with fragments and the fragmentary in their own disciplines, with opportunities for audience Q+A. There will also be a small exhibition featuring items from the special collections of the Leiden University library and the papyrology institute.

The event will run from 2.00-5.30. It is open to all but registration is essential.

A closed session will also be taking place on Friday 24th January, featuring longer presentations from each of our specialists, and there will be a few places open to interested parties from any related fields to come and participate in the discussions.

The deadline for registering for Thursday’s event and/or Friday’s workshop is January 3rd 2020.

The invited specialists are:

Adriaan van der Weel (Media Studies, discussing fragmented reading in the internet age)

Sebastian Ahnert (Mathematical physics, on how network analysis combines isolated material)

Gesine Manuwald (Classics, discussing the editing of fragmentary works)

Arnout Koorneef (Educational psychology, on how to reconstruct cognitive processes)

Monica Berti (Classics, discussing the creation of online digital fragment editions)

Helen Walasek (Cultural heritage, on the assessment of monuments destroyed by war)

Laura Swift (Classics, discussing modern performance of ancient fragmentary plays)

For further information, please contact m.f.payne@hum.leidenuniv.nl. To register, please email worldinpieces2020@gmail.com. A full programme will be circulated to registrees.