Symposium: Versioning Cultural Objects: Concepts, Structures, and Expressions
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Date: 1-2 December 2016
Place: An Foras Feasa, Maynooth University, Ireland

Overview
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The aim of this DAH-funded two-day symposium is to bring together experienced and early-stage researchers to engage with the versioning of cultural objects. The version of a cultural object is identified, articulated, and analysed through diverse mechanisms in different fields of study. The study of versions allows for the investigation of the creative processes behind the conception of the object, a closer inspection of the socio-political contexts that affect it, and may even provide the means to investigate the provenance and the object’s circulation. The symposium will provide a platform for scholars from different research areas to exchange ideas across different forms of media, including text, image, and sound. The proposed symposium considers the term “versioning” in the broadest sense; while the understanding of versions differ in disciplines, this dialogue will explore the convergences and variances in its conception. The conversation will highlight the range and depth of existing studies and provide an inter-disciplinary understanding of the term.
The symposium will focus on three primary areas:
- What is a version?
- Methods used in the electronic modelling of versions of cultural objects
- The representation of these digital versions

Application Process
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Proposals of up to 500 words are invited by 15 August 2016 from any disciplinary area which engage with either theoretical or practical applications of versioning. The symposium aims to challenge existing silos of disciplinary knowledge providing a platform for dialogue and debate, creating a more coherent understanding of the subject. We welcome applications from Irish, European, and international researchers and applications are welcome from both project-based and theoretical research. In particular, we encourage students and graduates of the Irish Digital Arts and Humanities (DAH) PhD Programme to apply.

Abstracts should be sent to the organisers by 15 August 2016
To: Vinayak.dasGupta@nuim.ie; roman.bleier@uni-graz.at

Areas may include, but are not limited to:
Textual studies, Variorum editions and collation methods, Musicology, Soundscapes, Film, studies, Religious studies, Bible studies and theology, Classical studies, Archaeology, Literary criticism, Translation studies, Manuscript studies, Oral history, Art history, Art criticism, Library Sciences, and Archiving

Format
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The symposium will be limited to 12 participants who will be selected based on a short abstract. Upon selection, participants will be asked to submit an extended abstract of 3000 words or a draft paper (no more than 8000 words) by 31 October 2016, which will be circulated to symposium participants in advance. The working paper will then be presented and discussed at the symposium. Additionally, every participant will be asked to read two working papers in advance of the symposium, review and prepare questions and comments for the authors. Completed articles will be considered for publication in an edited volume after the symposium.

Deadlines
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15 August: deadline for submission of abstracts
31 August: confirmation of acceptance
31 October: deadline for submission of extended abstract/draft paper

Bursaries
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Bursaries for accommodation and transportation are available on request. For further details, please contact the organisers.

The Versioning Cultural Objects symposium is generously funded by the Digital Arts and Humanities (DAH) programme.