CO-LAB ONE: Medieval Christian Hebrew and Critical Book History
with Dr. Damian Fleming, professor of English and linguistics /
medieval studies
If you are a COLA student, you would have received an email about
an opportunity to collaborate with faculty on something we are calling a
CO-LAB. I am one of the faculty members. You could get course credit
for working with me on my long-term research project on Hebrew alphabets in
Medieval Manuscripts. I have pasted all the details below. I will be
giving a lecture about my work and the CO-LAB on Tuesday, April 9 at
6pm in Neff 101. Pizza and Stuff. And I will show the Secret
of Kells afterwards (a delightful animated
movie about of the most famous medieval manuscripts). EVERYONE is
welcome to the lecture and movie!
If you are interested in being one of my CO-LAB students,
read all the details below and let me know if you have any questions (or ask at
my lecture). Applications, which include a 250-word statement of interest
and a required cover
sheet (attached), are due on Monday, April 15. Email them
to me at flemingd@pfw.edu
Dear COLA Students:
The Dean’s Office of the College of Liberal Arts at Purdue
University Fort Wayne welcomes applications from COLA students for its new
CO-LAB Program for academic year 2024-2025.
What is a CO-LAB?
CO-LABs provide COLA faculty and a small group of COLA
students with a unique opportunity to work closely on a research-based project
designed to model and teach a variety of skills relevant to the execution of a
larger research endeavor. We are currently launching three CO-LABs (see below
for details about each one). Each CO-LAB will allow students to:
·
conduct research, either according to disciplinary
practices or by integrating multiple disciplines in ways that encourage
explicit reflection on interdisciplinarity
·
refine critical thinking and problem-solving abilities
·
organize/manage a large project, including effective
time management and task prioritization
·
practice collaboration, including improving
communication skills necessary for effective interpersonal relationships and
cooperative efforts
·
cultivate flexibility, adaptability, creativity, and
effective decision-making
·
consider ethical standards and practices in research
·
practice communicating research to the public
Each CO-LAB will have a faculty director responsible for the
initial design and oversight of the project. Student enrollment in each CO-LAB
is competitive and by application. The CO-LABs are a 3-credit learning
experience, and students accepted into a CO-LAB will be registered for
IDIS 49101 for Fall 2024.
To be eligible, students must:
·
be enrolled in a major in the College of Liberal Arts
·
be in good academic standing
·
have junior or senior standing during the period of
the CO-LAB, though the faculty member may grant special permission for
sophomores to enroll when appropriate to do so.
To be considered for a CO-LAB cohort, students will submit an application consisting of a cover sheet (see
attachment) and a 250-word statement explaining their interest in the project. Selection
of students for each cohort will be made by the faculty member overseeing the
project. Each faculty member may have additional requirements that students
will need for admission into the CO-LAB so please read the descriptions below
carefully and reach out to the faculty member leading the CO-LAB to inquire
about their expectations if you aren’t sure if you meet them and to find out
their timeline for making a decision on who to
accept.
CO-LAB ONE:
Medieval Christian Hebrew and Critical Book History with Dr. Damian Fleming,
professor of English and linguistics / medieval studies
Dr Fleming seeks student collaborators who are interested in
medieval manuscript culture and its study in the 21st century.
Students will have a chance to work on original research while coming to
appreciate the fragility of the bibliographical record.
For the last 20 years, Dr. Fleming has been collecting
evidence of this Christian interest in Hebrew, especially Christian attempts to
copy the Hebrew alphabet in their (mostly) Latin manuscripts. His collection of
hundreds of manuscript images and relevant secondary research is composed of
images from online digital repositories as well as pictures he has taken during
site visits to libraries and archives around the world.
Dr. Fleming invites applications from potential student CO-LABorators who are interested in learning about medieval
manuscripts and how they are archived and accessed online. While online
collections are easily and freely available, they also present their own
perils. In 2023, the British Library suffered a ransomware attack which
destroyed their entire digital collection, including images of thousands of
medieval manuscripts. Students will help Dr. Fleming organize materials in his
collections, seek more materials online, and explore medieval manuscripts
virtually, looking for more evidence of Christian interest in Hebrew and other
languages. Dr. Fleming hopes to organize a field trip to a midwestern
university which has a medieval manuscript collection to deepen students’
appreciation of the difference between images of manuscripts and the objects
themselves.
Students interested in collaborating with Dr. Fleming should
send a statement of 250 words explaining their interest in the topic, evidence
of excellent research and/or organizational skills, and where applicable, their
experience in any of the following fields: medieval studies, art history,
foreign languages (please list specifics), data management, and computer
systems. Applications should be sent to flemingd@pfw.edu
before Monday, April 15 and include the cover sheet