The talk explores the use of computational methods for manuscript descriptions. It begins with an overview of Cambridge’s Persian manuscript collection in the context of UK collections. The speaker discusses how enhancing access to these collections motivated the use of computational techniques on descriptive data. A case study using data from the FIHRIST Union Catalogue of Islamicate Manuscripts is presented. The talk concludes by emphasising the significance of open access, standards, and data provenance in such research.
Yasmin Faghihi
Yasmin Faghihi is Head of the Near and Middle Eastern Department at Cambridge University Library. She is the editor of FIHRIST, the online union catalogue for manuscripts from the Islamicate world and chairs the Board of Directors. She has been leading on using and promoting standardised practices in text encoding for manuscript description and teaching to foster awareness about compatible approaches to data creation and use. Her work with the Middle Eastern and African manuscript collections has evolved around Islamic codicology including paper-making and distribution and the history of collections and collecting. Her Digital Humanities interests focus on the exchange of knowledge both as a historical and contemporary phenomenon, and how DH methodologies can impact the recognition of cultural diversity and offer new approaches to analysing cross-disciplinary frameworks.
13 March 2025, 5 – 7 pmOnline Lecture on Zoom
Now available: the recording on YouTube.