New Directions in Digital Textual Studies
Book History, Scholarly Editing and Curation in Conversation
Will be published approx. on 19. February 2026
Book
Hardback
336 pages
978-1-350-40677-3 (ISBN)
Description
The overlaps between the digital humanities and textual studies-two major scholarly fields which share common interests and methods-still demand further theoretical reflections. This volume brings together an exciting collection of book historians, textual editors, curators, and new media theorists to provide templates for and methodological reflections on how digital textual studies research can be done.
Featuring contributions from a variety of early career and experienced scholars and practitioners, this volume uses case studies and methodological provocations to open up digital textual studies, as well as taking a step back to consider the broader theoretical and pedagogical implications they raise. In doing so, it sets the agenda for pragmatic, digital text-based scholarship and methods, providing useful tools and frameworks for anyone in need of an introduction to textual studies that is grounded in digital research and new media.
Featuring contributions from a variety of early career and experienced scholars and practitioners, this volume uses case studies and methodological provocations to open up digital textual studies, as well as taking a step back to consider the broader theoretical and pedagogical implications they raise. In doing so, it sets the agenda for pragmatic, digital text-based scholarship and methods, providing useful tools and frameworks for anyone in need of an introduction to textual studies that is grounded in digital research and new media.
Reviews / Votes
In this exemplary collection, Christopher Ohge and Kristen Schuster issue a powerful reminder of the foundational role of textual scholarship within the study of digital technologies in the humanities. But even more importantly, they demonstrate that textual studies represents the future as well as the past of digital humanities, acting as a fruitful lingua franca between disciplines as apparently disparate as literary studies, book history, new media, museum curation, library studies, theology and data science, to open up new possibilities for researchers and curators. -- Francesca Benatti, Senior Research Fellow In Digital Humanities, Open University, UK Bringing together key scholars for a unique conversation, this book will become an indispensable text for students and researchers investigating the future of editing and curation. -- Laura Dietz, Lecturer in Publishing, University College London, UKMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
41 bw illus, 4 tables
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
663 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-350-40677-3 (9781350406773)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Christopher Ohge is Senior Lecturer in Digital Approaches to Literature at the School of Advanced Study, University of London, UK.
Kristen Schuster (they/them) is Lecturer in Digital Humanities at the University of Southampton, UK.
Kristen Schuster (they/them) is Lecturer in Digital Humanities at the University of Southampton, UK.
Content
Introduction: This is Not a Book
Christopher Ohge (University of London, UK) & Kristen Schuster (University of Southampton, UK)
Section I. Methods and Case Studies
1. Cataloguing the Enlightenment: Legacy Practices of Organised Knowledge
Zoe Screti (University of Oxford, UK)
2. Editing Authenticity in the Manuscript Text: Prefaces, Diplomatic Transcriptions, and Photographs
Geoffrey Turnovsky (University of Washington, USA)
3. The Printing Surface in the Age of Digital Reproduction
Giles Bergel (University of Oxford, UK)
4. From Bookshelves to Bytes: Navigating the Digital Transformation of Writers' Libraries
Anke Jaspers (University of Graz, Austria) & Martina Schoenbaechler (Independent Scholar)
5. A Graph Database Approach to Editing and Publishing Infinitely Recombinant Digital Texts
Miller C. Prosser (University of Chicago, USA)
6. Pragmatic Digital Editing, Data Analysis, and Creative-Critical Practices: The Case of the Anti-Slavery Anthology The Bow in the Cloud (1834)
Christopher Ohge (University of London, UK)
7. Extracting for Experience: Material Annotation and its Affordances in Textual Studies
Mary Erica Zimmer (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA)
8. Reading the edited collection, distantly: some trends in British theological publishing in the twentieth century
Peter Webster (University of Southampton, UK)
Section II. Interdisciplinary Reflections
9. Unlocking Literary Heritage: From Cabinets of Curiosities to Digital Story-Telling
Wim Van Mierlo (Loughborough University, UK)
10. Folklore Archives in the Digital Age
Karoline Strittmater (Independent Scholar)
11. Teaching Truman with Hypertext Methods: Project Whistlestop over Two Decades
Ashney V. Randle (University of Missouri, USA), Logan F. Thompson (University of Missouri, USA), Renee M. Jones (University of Missouri, USA), & Sarah A. Buchanan (University of Missouri, USA)
12. Digital Publishing Practices in Museums: Old Habits, New Platforms
Ellen Charlesworth (Durham University, UK) & Claire Warwick (Durham University, UK)
13. Describing New Media: Strategies and Recommendations for Teaching Structured Data in Multi-Disciplinary Humanities Contexts
Kristen Schuster (University of Southampton, UK)
14. Honey, AI Shrunk the Archive: Artificial Intelligence as Compression Algorithm
Jon Ippolito (University of Maine, USA)
15. Book History for the Future: Connecting Communications Media
Leah Henrickson (University of Queensland, Australia)
Afterword: On Textual Editing and Digital Scholarly Curation
Dirk Van Hulle (University of Oxford, UK)
Christopher Ohge (University of London, UK) & Kristen Schuster (University of Southampton, UK)
Section I. Methods and Case Studies
1. Cataloguing the Enlightenment: Legacy Practices of Organised Knowledge
Zoe Screti (University of Oxford, UK)
2. Editing Authenticity in the Manuscript Text: Prefaces, Diplomatic Transcriptions, and Photographs
Geoffrey Turnovsky (University of Washington, USA)
3. The Printing Surface in the Age of Digital Reproduction
Giles Bergel (University of Oxford, UK)
4. From Bookshelves to Bytes: Navigating the Digital Transformation of Writers' Libraries
Anke Jaspers (University of Graz, Austria) & Martina Schoenbaechler (Independent Scholar)
5. A Graph Database Approach to Editing and Publishing Infinitely Recombinant Digital Texts
Miller C. Prosser (University of Chicago, USA)
6. Pragmatic Digital Editing, Data Analysis, and Creative-Critical Practices: The Case of the Anti-Slavery Anthology The Bow in the Cloud (1834)
Christopher Ohge (University of London, UK)
7. Extracting for Experience: Material Annotation and its Affordances in Textual Studies
Mary Erica Zimmer (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA)
8. Reading the edited collection, distantly: some trends in British theological publishing in the twentieth century
Peter Webster (University of Southampton, UK)
Section II. Interdisciplinary Reflections
9. Unlocking Literary Heritage: From Cabinets of Curiosities to Digital Story-Telling
Wim Van Mierlo (Loughborough University, UK)
10. Folklore Archives in the Digital Age
Karoline Strittmater (Independent Scholar)
11. Teaching Truman with Hypertext Methods: Project Whistlestop over Two Decades
Ashney V. Randle (University of Missouri, USA), Logan F. Thompson (University of Missouri, USA), Renee M. Jones (University of Missouri, USA), & Sarah A. Buchanan (University of Missouri, USA)
12. Digital Publishing Practices in Museums: Old Habits, New Platforms
Ellen Charlesworth (Durham University, UK) & Claire Warwick (Durham University, UK)
13. Describing New Media: Strategies and Recommendations for Teaching Structured Data in Multi-Disciplinary Humanities Contexts
Kristen Schuster (University of Southampton, UK)
14. Honey, AI Shrunk the Archive: Artificial Intelligence as Compression Algorithm
Jon Ippolito (University of Maine, USA)
15. Book History for the Future: Connecting Communications Media
Leah Henrickson (University of Queensland, Australia)
Afterword: On Textual Editing and Digital Scholarly Curation
Dirk Van Hulle (University of Oxford, UK)