The Foundation of the Paris Sciences et Lettres University

Or, How Philology and Artificial Intelligence Can Serve Burned Manuscripts Recent advances in philological tools and technologies, augmented data and artificial intelligence can help reconstruct manuscripts that have been partially or totally destroyed by fire. These are skills cultivated at the École des chartes, notably through our courses in the Master’s program in Digital Humanities, and they are one of the research themes pursued by our faculty. We are able to generate fakes in order to train automatic transcription models and to visualize probable reconstructions. We now wish to work on actual burned manuscripts and attempt to restore their original appearance. This work would make it possible to visualize one possible version of the original manuscript and to engage our students in the study of forgery and its detection. It would also allow us to develop expertise for discussing fakes more broadly: detection, source reliability, and critical examination of results. Possible object of study: Old French manuscripts held by the National and University Library of Turin, which suffered a fire in 1904 and bombings in 1942 that destroyed half of its manuscripts (more than 30,000 volumes) and damaged the other half. Funding request: $100,000, covering one year of a research engineer specializing in machine learning, publication costs, and travel to conferences.

Fondation de l'École nationale des chartes - PSL Loved far beyond the borders of France, Édith Piaf left her mark on the world and on America in particular. She remains one of the most recognized voices across the globe. Yet a significant part of her story has never been explored. The Bibliothèque nationale de France holds an exceptional collection of six linear meters of Édith Piaf's personal archives, entirely untapped by research to this day. Bequeathed by her personal secretary, this collection includes unpublished correspondence, personal belongings, pieces signed by the greatest French fashion houses, some twenty alternative recordings never released, and radio archives documenting her broadcasts. It is to explore this unique heritage that doctoral student Carla Scalisi, supervised by Christophe Gauthier (École nationale des chartes – PSL) and Joël Huthwohl (BNF), has undertaken a PhD thesis devoted to this collection. Her work traces Piaf's artistic and media journey from her origins to the first half of the 20th century, shedding light on the pioneering role of women artists in the 1930s. More broadly, this research explores how cultural icons are constructed and celebrated within French and global cultural heritage. The École nationale des chartes – PSL is a leading higher education institution specialized in heritage, archives and digital humanities, and a member of PSL University, ranked among the top 50 universities worldwide. The École des chartes Foundation's role is to support the development of the École des chartes' activities and projects. This research is a three-year endeavor dedicated to uncovering this exceptional collection for the very first time. Every contribution, however big or small, brings Carla one step closer to completing this work. Your support will help fund the digitization of the archives, her research at the New York Public Library, and the sharing of these findings with the world. In recognition of your support, all donors will be granted access to the completed thesis upon its publication. Supporting this project means helping preserve a piece of global cultural memory and uncovering stories no one has ever heard of.