Hands-on exploration of the processes that give shape to texts, turning texts into objects we can access, read, archive, catalogue and retrieve. We’ll study the history of editorial and publication processes, from early printshops to digital publishing. We’ll focus on the extraordinary migration underway in recent decades of existing printed texts into digital formats, where these texts can now be accessed instantly online and addressed at scale in databases. How is digitization transforming how we read, do research and study the past? How does the digitization process itself reshape earlier works and collections? What factors shape what gets included in this digital migration and what gets left out? We'll consider legal and economic contexts for publication and access: the complicated place of copyright, the economics of the internet and tech industry vs. the economics of the book trade and publishing industry. We'll consider the enormous implications of sustainability: the temporalities of book publishing vs. the very short time-frames now characteristic of digital publishing.
The course emphasizes hands-on learning. We’ll learn to work with early books and create our own small digital editions using the guidelines of the Text Encoding Initiative (TEI) – a widely-used XML standard for encoding texts for digital preservation and publication. We’ll explore platforms and techniques for publishing these editions on the web, including learning some basic HTML and CSS and understanding what web-based publishing is and how web servers work. We’ll also work with librarians and library protocols for digitizing and digitally cataloguing print materials, working with materials in UW Libraries Special Collections.
No prior experience necessary. Please contact gt@uw.edu with any questions.
The program is geared to students who are contemplating careers in libraries and archives, publishing and editing, and in professions or graduate programs that require working with cultural and literary texts in digital environments. See here for more information about the Textual Studies and Digital Humanities Minor.
|