Biblia Latina and Latin Tutorials

Dr. Neil W. Bernstein
Professor,
College of Arts and Sciences 

Dr. Kyle Gervais
Associate Professor,
University of Western Ontario 

Dr. Miriam Intrator
Special Collections Librarian,
University Libraries 

OHIO Classics & Religious Studies professor Neil Bernstein and classics professor Kyle Gervais from the University of Western Ontario collaborated with librarian Miriam Intrator to create four interactive tutorials used by students studying Latin, along with a fifth tutorial featuring the University Libraries’ 13th century Bible. The Latin tutorials, which feature pages from the Manuscript and Printed Leaves digital collection, invite students to think about the language, the physicality of the original books and the techniques used to create them, while the Bible tutorial examines the manuscript through the lens of book history. Together, the tutorials aim to make the special collections at the Libraries more accessible to students and scholars around the world who study everything from economic history to religious texts and ancient classics — and empower students to actively participate in the learning process by providing multiple avenues to deeper research. Additionally, the collaboration to create the tutorials improved their overall content by including different perspectives and varied approaches to teaching and learning.

“Before the pandemic, Dr. Miriam Intrator had generously offered her time and expertise in presenting central items from the Latin manuscript collection to students in the Libraries’ room used for viewing rare books . The pandemic temporarily forced us to shift instruction online. But it also offered an opportunity to collaborate in presenting some of this material and its tradition to a wider audience.” – Dr. Neil Bernstein

“Manuscript studies could traditionally be done effectively only by those at (or with the resources to visit) a handful of institutions with large manuscript collections. The digitization of collections around the world has begun to change that and democratize the field. I was delighted to take part in this project to make Ohio University’s Latin manuscripts more accessible to students at OHIO and elsewhere.” – Dr. Kyle Gervais