Trans Theory as Method in Manuscript Studies

This seminar will be held online.

Modern bibliographical methods developed within the structures western imperialism and kyriarchical power as an investment in the construction of nationalist cultural heritage. This genesis has left a legacy, both in the unspoken investments of the field, and in the methodological manoeuvres needed to overcome them. This talk offers queer and trans theory as a tactic for negotiating this legacy. Building on work in trans studies, and on the interventions of archivists and scholars of later periods, it demonstrates how re-theorizing the methods of manuscript studies allows us to see through the material record to the communal relations and dissident experiences that underlie it.