E-Lit: Historical Overview of IT in English Literature

Initial points n Course and assessment - LOG ON n Web site ( > On-line course material > E-Lit >Course site) n Bulletin Board n Using the room n Final assessment - save in B: drive n Guest lectures, OUP visit

Aim of course n The impact of the new technologies on English literature and language n Changes in the world of publishing n The history of computer-based English literature projects n Transferable skills

Aim of Class n Look at the main areas where IT has been used in English literary studies n Hands-on analysis of a few selected packages n Discussion of common themes > esp. design and content

IT and English Literature n Analysis of resources (textual) n Access to resources n Bringing together material to further the study of the text, author, genre n Promoting dialogue n Didactic/instructional n Creative writing

Analysis of Resources n Computers can handle large quantities of data n In literature this usually relates to collections of texts or corpora n Analysis (in theory) can provide a deeper understanding of the text n Patterns, use of vocabulary (authorship studies), development of themes, creation of indices and concordances, etc. n Concordance of the Vulgate in the Middle Ages n Fr. Roberta Busa’s analysis of St Aquinas’s texts in 1946 n Covered in class 4

Access to Resources n Primary material - electronic versions of texts and mss - started with Project Gutenberg (early 1971), the Oxford Text Archive (1976), Chadwyck-Healey began in early 1990s, finally e-books (class 6); first manuscripts were produced at Oxford and the BL n Secondary (editions, journals, monographs, etc.) and reference material (dictionaries, companions, encyclopaedias)

OED Case Study (p. 65) n 2nd ed. Published on CD-ROM mid 1990s n Allowed for non- standard searches of the dictionary n Migrated to Web version end of 1990s n Available under OxLIP

Hypertext publications n Allowed literary scholars to bring together material related to a specific text or author n Mixed media was available (text, images, audio, and video) plus linking to stress intertextuality n The Web uses the same metaphors n Hypertext discussed more in Class 3

Case study: The Beowulf Workstation n Written in HyperCard in 1991 by Prof. Patrick Conner (West Virgina University) n Text of Beowulf plus tools to help students translate and study the work n No longer runs but its design was highly influential

Instructional/Didactic n Rarely used as there as Literary studies tend to be more discursive, with more emphasis on research, analysis, argument n Yet is applicable in some areas where self-paced learning and assessment is appropriate

Case Study: STELLA (p.66) n Software for Teaching English Language and Literature and its Assessment (University of Glasgow) n Series of self-paced modules with tests: Scottish Literature, Older Scots, English Metre, English Grammar, Old English, Piers Plowman

Hands-on Analysis n Content - what is available? n Functionality - what does the package allow you to do that is new? n Appeal - how easy is it to use, and how aesthetically pleasing? n Commonality - what are the common technical, design, and content features?

Discussion n What did they contain? n Structural design - tree diagram n Authority, Purpose, Content, Accuracy, Objectivity, Currency, Design n Greetham’s model editions n All author or context-oriented?

Week’s activities n ‘Internet for English’ tutorial n Look at web sites and post brief evaluation on the bulletin board (one or two paragraphs) n Reading for Class 1 and Condron (pp )