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E-Lit: Historical Overview of IT in English Literature

E-Lit: Historical Overview of IT in English Literature. Stuart.lee@oucs.ox.ac.uk. Initial points. Course and assessment - LOG ON Web site (http://www.english.ox.ac.uk/ > On-line course material > E-Lit >Course site) Bulletin Board Using the room Final assessment - save in B: drive

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E-Lit: Historical Overview of IT in English Literature

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  1. E-Lit: Historical Overview of IT in English Literature Stuart.lee@oucs.ox.ac.uk

  2. Initial points • Course and assessment - LOG ON • Web site (http://www.english.ox.ac.uk/ > On-line course material > E-Lit >Course site) • Bulletin Board • Using the room • Final assessment - save in B: drive • Guest lectures, OUP visit

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

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

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

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

  7. Access to Resources • 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 • Secondary (editions, journals, monographs, etc.) and reference material (dictionaries, companions, encyclopaedias)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  15. Week’s activities • ‘Internet for English’ tutorial • Look at web sites and post brief evaluation on the bulletin board (one or two paragraphs) • Reading for Class 1 and Condron (pp. 15-18)

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