As a VCU student, one of the many perks we have is the opportunity to join so many clubs. It’s a great way to build connections and make lifelong friends. You can easily log in to RamsConnect (the online hub for our Student Activity and Student Orgs) and scroll through the hundreds of clubs and events our campus has to offer. We also have the SOVO fair at the beginning of every semester to look through the clubs we have on campus too, if you prefer the in-person experience.
TLDR; You’ve got so many options to choose from and easy ways to access those clubs’ pages.Â
For example, I joined Her Campus because I found it through Instagram one day. It was the best decision I ever made during my four years at VCU, and I don’t regret it one bit.Â
But…that’s not what I’m here to talk about today. We have so many clubs that some of them tend to go under the radar. I’m here to tell you about a club this happened to. A club that doesn’t have a RamsConnect page, and is also one of my favorite clubs on campus.Â
This was a long-winded introduction to talk about Superscripts!Â
What is “Superscripts” you might be asking?Â
Superscripts is a student organization dedicated to paleography at VCU. Paleography is the study of ancient writing systems. It involves deciphering and dating historical manuscripts, according to Wikipedia. Manuscripts (or MS or MSS) are documents that are written by hand rather than mechanically printed. Before printing, all documents and books were manuscripts!Â
Superscripts, as an organization, focuses on early modern and modern handwriting!Â
The club is run by Professor Joshua Eckhardt of the English Department. Professor Eckhardt teaches classes such as British Literature I (ENGL 203) and Bible as Literature (RELS/ENGL 361). I took those classes with him back in Spring 2024 and that’s what got me into Superscripts in the first place!
During the club’s run, Professor Eckhardt allowed his “Superscripters” to get experience transcribing and looking at manuscripts. For example, Eckhardt led a triple transcription of Folger Manuscript V.a. 345 (an entire handwritten book of over 300 pages and 500 poems) back in 2018! Once they completed this, they got to see the manuscript they got to transcribe in person in Washington D.C.. He’s laid it all out on his website right here! Unfortunately, VCU will shut the website down soon so check it out before it disappears!
Paleography is an underappreciated study. I understand that it can sound boring. Trust me, I was the same way! I didn’t think I could ever get into manuscripts! However, Professor Eckhardt has so much infectious passion for this subject that I couldn’t help but be curious about his work. I’ve been in Superscripts ever since he first gave me the “brainworms” about it!Â
Superscripts is a club that fosters passion and creativity in paleography. It allows us to explore this niche interest with materials such as quills and ink in-house. You don’t have to feel stupid for not knowing so much about this subject, because Professor Eckhardt will help you if you have questions! It’s an environment to learn!Â
If you feel interested in anything I wrote, come down to Hibbs Hall in the Book Lab (room 408) on Thursdays from 12-3 PM, grab a bagel, and sit down with us!Â