Scholarly Intervention in Automated Collation Software

TY - CONF

T1 - Scholarly Intervention in Automated Collation Software

AU - Bleeker, Elli

AU - Haentjens Dekker, Ronald

N1 - Conference code: 14

PY - 2017/11/24

Y1 - 2017/11/24

N2 - Scholarly editors have at their disposal an increasing number of digital tools and technologies to examine the genesis of a literary work. The application of these tools is a critical activity: for example, a TEI/XML transcription of the text of a manuscript includes the editorial analysis of the inscriptions on the document page (Robinson and Solopova 1993, 21; Pierazzo 2015, 100-1). If made according to the 'genetic orientation to text', a TEI/XML transcription includes the editorial interpretation of the order in which words and sentences were written and revised. This results in a transcription with different 'layers of revision' that together represent the temporal aspect of the writing process. In other words, the transcription contains valuable information: the editor's analysis of the text's genesis. The present paper discusses an approach that uses this information when processing the transcription with collation software, in order to obtain optimal collation output. Where editorial intervention on the level of transcription is generally acknowledged and accepted, the degrees of intervention in automated collation technologies vary widely. This paper examines whether intervening in the code of a collation tool can produce better results when collating draft manuscripts. The code of the tool is adjusted in such a way, that it can collate two entire TEI/XML transcriptions that each contain several layers of revision. The transcriptions of Raymond Brulez' Sheherazade (1932) serve as a first case study. With its complex draft manuscripts and revision history, Sheherazade offers a stimulating and compelling case for digital research into textual genesis. The approach is nevertheless not intended to be project-specific: it is tested on the transcriptions of a different writer in order to assess the reusability of the tool for other (genetic) editing projects. Furthermore, the paper reflects upon the evaluation and appropriation of digital tools and code as non-conventional yet essential products of digital research. As such, the authors emphasize the value of experimenting with methodology in order to advance the fields of digital scholarly editing and textual scholarship.

AB - Scholarly editors have at their disposal an increasing number of digital tools and technologies to examine the genesis of a literary work. The application of these tools is a critical activity: for example, a TEI/XML transcription of the text of a manuscript includes the editorial analysis of the inscriptions on the document page (Robinson and Solopova 1993, 21; Pierazzo 2015, 100-1). If made according to the 'genetic orientation to text', a TEI/XML transcription includes the editorial interpretation of the order in which words and sentences were written and revised. This results in a transcription with different 'layers of revision' that together represent the temporal aspect of the writing process. In other words, the transcription contains valuable information: the editor's analysis of the text's genesis. The present paper discusses an approach that uses this information when processing the transcription with collation software, in order to obtain optimal collation output. Where editorial intervention on the level of transcription is generally acknowledged and accepted, the degrees of intervention in automated collation technologies vary widely. This paper examines whether intervening in the code of a collation tool can produce better results when collating draft manuscripts. The code of the tool is adjusted in such a way, that it can collate two entire TEI/XML transcriptions that each contain several layers of revision. The transcriptions of Raymond Brulez' Sheherazade (1932) serve as a first case study. With its complex draft manuscripts and revision history, Sheherazade offers a stimulating and compelling case for digital research into textual genesis. The approach is nevertheless not intended to be project-specific: it is tested on the transcriptions of a different writer in order to assess the reusability of the tool for other (genetic) editing projects. Furthermore, the paper reflects upon the evaluation and appropriation of digital tools and code as non-conventional yet essential products of digital research. As such, the authors emphasize the value of experimenting with methodology in order to advance the fields of digital scholarly editing and textual scholarship.

KW - scholarly editing

KW - automated collation

KW - computational humanities

UR - https://textualscholarship.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/book_of_abstracts_ests_2017.pdf

M3 - Abstract

T2 - ESTS 2017: Editorial Degrees of Intervention

Y2 - 23 November 2017 through 24 November 2017

ER -