Performing Transdisciplinarity

The transdisciplinary nature of 18th-century print culture is epitomised by the illustrated songbook, a genre whose performative nature and fusion of image, music and text escapes conventional analysis. New models of cross-disciplinary collaboration and multimedia dissemination are thus required to unlock such unique cultural productions. Through multifaceted research on an exemplary songbook, this project aims to create a multimedia digital interface for linking deep disciplinary knowledge and the innovative recreation of the sounds, sensibilities, and social mores of 18th-century France. The project's model of rich digital understanding promises significant benefits for cultural institutions whose complex objects lie dormant or underused.