oa Theories, Categories, Configurations: A Historian’s Point of View on the Study of Publishing in Manuscript

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Louis Mink (1921-1983) was an American philosopher who contributed greatly to historical theory. In two seminal essays, published in 1960 and 1970, Mink presented three different modes of understanding - theoretical, categoreal, and configurational - each of which he saw as typical of, although not exclusive to, a specific scholarly field or tradition. According to Mink, the theoretical mode is the classical approach of the natural sciences, with physics as a paradigmatic example; the categoreal mode is the home domain of philosophy; and history operates principally in the configurational mode. This methodological essay uses Mink’s categories to analyze previous research into the history of manuscript publishing, arguing that all three have been applied to the topic. While all three approaches have contributed to our understanding of the phenomenon, it is argued that theoretical and categoreal approaches yield too specific results and cannot therefore open up very promising avenues for further research. The most fruitful access to the subject in that respect must be the configurational mode. Finally, drawing on parallels from the historiography of the printed book, this essay makes the case for not looking at the history of manuscript publishing in isolation from other historical phenomena. To cast new and interesting light on the past, such research needs to consider publishing in relation to social, political, and ideological developments, a suggestion which circles back to Mink’s view of historical research as ultimately configurational scholarship.