Call for Papers: “Early Modern Texts: Digital Methods and Methodologies”

February 28, 2013 - Posted in Call for papers - Permalink

The Text Creation Partnership is delighted to once again be hosting a conference September 16-17, 2013, at the University of Oxford. We are currently seeking submissions related to this year’s theme, “Early Modern Texts: Digital Methods and Methodologies.” From the conference website:

The Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership, based at the Bodleian Library in Oxford, invites proposals for conference papers. All papers that focus on early modern texts will be considered, but we particularly encourage proposals on digital research and editing methods and methodologies in early modern studies. Possible topics could include:

  • Editing philosophies and practicalities
  • Digital citation
  • Hidden or developing research methodologies in the Humanities
  • Bridging traditional and digital methods
  • Comparative studies of different digital resources
  • Research based on EEBO-TCP
  • Digital tools to support early modern research
  • Approaches to teaching methodology

The deadline for submissions is Friday 5 April 2013.

The conference is intended as an opportunity to explore the current state of early modern textual studies and editing, and to consider possibilities for the future. There will be a particular focus on developing potential for collaborative work through scheduled networking sessions. Proposals including project demonstrations or ideas are encouraged, as are submissions from postgraduate and early career researchers.

Please send proposals of no more than 300 words, together with a brief biography (100 words maximum), to eebotcp@bodleian.ox.ac.uk. Acceptances will be notified by Monday 29 April 2013.

You can download a digital copy of this Call for Papers.

We hope to see you in Oxford in September!

Meet a TCP Editor: Sarah Wingo

January 30, 2013 - Posted in Uncategorized - Permalink

My name is Sarah Wingo. I am in my second and final year at the University of Michigan’s School of Information (UM-SI) working on my master of science in information, and recently completed my third week as a part-time editor for the Text Creation Partnership (TCP).

TCP is tucked away in a strip of the Hatcher Graduate library‘s third floor north stacks, in what is known as “the cage.” Even if you stumbled across the cage in your search for a book or journal housed in the Asia Library stacks, which share the third floor with TCP, it’s likely you wouldn’t know what we were all up to hard at work over our computers.  I first learned about the University of Michigan’s branch of TCP last summer while doing an internship funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), dealing with digital preservation for MLibrary. My supervisor at the time wanted me to have the opportunity to see the variety of work being done at the library, and on a visit to MPublishing I happened to meet the Text Creation Partnership Project Outreach Librarian Rebecca Welzenbach, who explained the project to me.

My personal interest in TCP stems from my educational background prior to coming to UM-SI. I did an MA in English at the University of Birmingham’s Shakespeare Institute, where I specialized in Shakespeare and other early modern English dramatists.  I then chose to pursue a library science degree because while working towards my MA, I frequently used special collections and became increasingly interested in the stewardship of rare books and manuscripts and in using technology and digital media to create new ways of accessing and interacting with these materials. The TCP is an interesting fit for me because it combines my interest in early English texts with the technological aspects of creating access for the scholarly community that first sparked my interest in librarianship.

Readmore »

Conference Organizers reflect on “Revolutionizing Early Modern Studies”? EEBO-TCP in 2012

January 25, 2013 - Posted in Conference Report - Permalink

This conference report was contributed by Judith Siefring, a TCP editor at the University of Oxford, with contributions from Pip Willcox, also an editor at Oxford and the main organizer of the 2012 conference. 

The publication of the proceedings of the conference “Revolutionizing Early Modern Studies”? The Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership in 2012, held in Oxford on the 17th and 18th September 2012, was a cause for great celebration for those of us involved in its organization. The conference coincided with the tenth year of production for the TCP in Oxford and it allowed us to reflect on the impact that the corpus has had on research and teaching in the early modern period, and to explore planned and potential developments for the future.

The conference was opened by Dr Richard Ovenden, Associate Director of the Bodleian Libraries, who has been an important advocate for the TCP since its inception. Richard introduced our keynote speaker, Dr John Lavagnino of King’s College London, who delivered a superb survey of “Scholarship in the EEBO-TCP Age”. John set the tone for the whole conference by exploring the philosophical questions and practical challenges of digital scholarship. He explained the importance of the TCP production model – transcribed rather than OCRed text – and considered the kinds of work that the corpus allows scholars to do, either uniquely in digital rather than print form, or very significantly faster than previously possible. John also introduced what would become a recurring theme in the conference – that EEBO-TCP is “everywhere in early modern studies, though largely hidden: overt citation and discussion are minimal”. This citation problem has been followed up recently in a SECT project focus group on digital citation, and research methodologies in the humanities remains a topic ripe for further discussion.

Readmore »

« Older Entries