English 573, American Authors and Online Editions
Fall 2017 Syllabus available at http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/sched573f17.htm Blackboard: http://learn.wsu.edu (for readings only; announcements are on the Course Blog) WSU Databases for Literature * MLA Bibliography * Ebsco * Project Muse * Historical New York Times * JSTOR |
Course Description
This course asks the following question: "What is a good critical edition, and can, or should, the same features be translated into digital form?" English 573, American Writers and Online Editions, asks its participants to consider the work of writers such as Edith Wharton, Mark Twain, Charles W. Chesnutt, Sui Sin Far and other North American writers in the publication context of their works both during their own day and in their new incarnations as digital editions.
In this course, you'll be introduced to traditional editing practices through Williams and Abbott (below) and to theories of digital humanities and online editions. We'll then examine the editing practices of such well-established online projects as the Mark Twain and Walt Whitman editions. We will also read literary criticism on the authors we read to understand the historical, interpretive, and publication histories of the author and the texts that he or she produced in a particular cultural moment.
This is not a technical DH class where you'll be expected to use advanced tools and languages, and--very important--you do not need to know any more than basic information that you already have, such as how to write a paper using Word or how to send email. Nor do you need to produce an online project for this class. Think of our web practices this way: if a web site could be a car, this class doesn't ask you to fix it or build it. Rather, we'll be looking under the hood on certain days so that we can learn more about how the car works--and, equally important, reading theoretical material (McGann, Earhart, Shillingsburg, etc.) that will help you to frame your understanding conceptually. You will need regular access to a computer and the Internet, however.
In a series of "Digital Days," usually held every third week, we'll look specifically at web sites and digital tools used to design and mount an online edition of a text. Please be sure to bring your laptop or to check one out from the library or the English Department on those days. Among the markup tools to be explored are basic HTML and CSS, the TEI (Text-Encoding Initiative), and Scalar (with a glance at Omeka). If you want to, you'll have the opportunity, for one of your projects, to transcribe the manuscript of a short story or novel chapter, follow it through its periodical publication, and then create an edition with textuxl notes that describe the changes and an essay or introduction that contextualizes the piece, describes editing challenges, characterizes its initial reception, and reviews current criticism. You can find these texts through reading 19th- and early 20th-century journals online (links below to the Making of America Project, the Modernist Journals Project, Hathi Trust, etc.) or by investigating the journals we have in the library (Atlantic, Harper's, Scribner's, The Century, and so on)..
Assignments are all geared toward eventual presentation or publication. They include a 30-minute oral presentation; short 5-minute presentations of critical material ("article experts") or web sites; and two papers, one of conference length and one longer paper that may be based on the same topic.
Required Texts
Fiction:
DH and Editorial Theory:
Recommended (not required) Text:
Williams, William Proctor, and Craig S. Abbott. An Introduction to Bibliographical and Textual Studies.4th ed. New York: MLA, 2009. 9781603290401
Secondary Readings
Note: We'll read selections from these and other works, as listed on the syllabus, and this list gives you a place to start with your own research. Some readings are available in Blackboard.
Note: Each of the numbered items below, whether it's a web site or an article, will be an "article expert" reading for the day.
Important: Not all the materials we'll be seeing have been linked yet.
1 | 8/21 | Introduction Eggert, "Apparatus" (Blackboard) |
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2 | 8/28 | The Bifurcated Text
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3 | 9/4 | Labor Day: No Class |
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4 | 9/11 | Charles W. Chesnutt, Conjure Stories and Tales of the Color Line
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5 | 9/18 | Digital Day: Basic Wordpress, HTML, and CSS
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Proposal for Paper 1 |
6 | 9/25 |
Presentation: Heather |
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7 | 10/1 | Wharton, The House of Mirth (1905) Presentation: Curtis
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8 | 10/9 | Digital Day: Creating an Edition or an Archive (Is it Worth It?) Paper 1 due
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Paper 1 |
9 | 10/16 | Wharton, The Reef (1912) Presentation: Nazua
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10 | 10/23 | Wharton, The Custom of the Country (1913)
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11 | 10/30 | Wharton, The Age of Innocence (1920)
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Proposal for Paper 2 |
12 | 11/6 | Digital Day: Visualizing Texts: Scalar (Omeka, Neatline,Voyant Tools)
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13 | 11/13 | Edith Wharton: Digital Visions Bring laptop to class. Introduction to TEI (download free 30-day version of OxYgen and install from https://www.oxygenxml.com/xml_editor/download_oxygenxml_editor.html)
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14 | 11/20 | Thanksgiving Break | |
14 | 11/27 | Conclusions and Journal Publication Workshop
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Paper 2 due to respondents |
15 | 12/4 | In-class conference | Paper 2 due |
16 |
Course Requirements
Attendance and Participation. Attendance and good class participation are essential.
Papers and Presentations.
Proposals and Responses. Since one of your professional responsibilities as scholars will be to submit proposals to conference, you’ll prepare a 100-200 word proposal for each of the papers you will write in this class. These will receive comments but not grades. You’ll also prepare a response to a classmate’s paper during the last two weeks of class, which you will then deliver as part of the conference-style presentations at the end of the course.
Late Papers and Extensions. Late papers are penalized at the rate of one letter grade (10 points) per class day late; a paper that would have received a "B" on the due date will receive a "C" if handed in on the next class day. Papers turned in after 2 class meetings will receive a 50/100 toward your class grade.
You have one automatic extension in this class, which means that your paper will be due on the next class day (in our case,a week).You must request the extension ahead of time, and you should save it for a true emergency, since no other extensions will be granted for illness, funerals, weddings, or any other reason.
Presentations and Article Critiques
Article Critiques. In addition to reading primary texts, we'll be reading some classic but mostly current criticism on the works so that you'll have a good sense of what approaches are being published now. Alternately, you'll review current web sites on these authors. We'll all read all the articles, but each week three or four people will be responsible for preparing a brief summary (5 minutes) and critique (no more than the front of 1 page) of one article each. You'll bring copies for your classmates so that they'll have a record.
These need not be terribly formal; their purpose is to allow the "article expert" to raise questions and discussion points about his or her article rather than do a formal presentation of it. You'll all take turns being an "article expert," but you won't need to do this every week; you'll be the "article expert" about four times during the course of the semester.
Here's what should be included.
Remember these should be brief: No more than 5 minutes, and no more than the front of a page.
Presentations. Each member of the class will give a 30-minute presentation at one point during the semester. This might take any one of several forms:
You will need to provide a brief handout for the class, preferably one that includes the following:
In-Class Conference. During the last week of class, you'll present a conference-length version of your second paper to the rest of the class. The presentations at the end of the course will be based on the longer paper, which you’ll need to edit down to conference length.
Plagiarism Policy (supplement to WSU Statement on Academic Integrity). Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of someone else's words or ideas. This definition includes not only deliberately handing in someone else's work as your own but failing to cite your sources, including Web pages and Internet sources. Plagiarism also includes handing in a paper that you have previously submitted or are currently submitting for another course.
WSU Email Policy: Per the WSU policy effective August 24, 2015, I will ONLY be able to respond to emails sent from your WSU email address. I will NOT be able to respond to emails sent from your personal email address as of the first day of fall semester. Effective the 24th, the IT Department will switch the “preferred” email address in your myWSU to your WSU email address.
WSU Statement on Academic Integrity.Academic integrity is the cornerstone of higher education. As such, all members of the university community share responsibility for maintaining and promoting the principles of integrity in all activities, including academic integrity and honest scholarship. Academic integrity will be strongly enforced in this course. Students who violate WSU’s Academic Integrity Policy (identified in Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 504-26-010(3) and -404) will receive a grade of F, will not have the option to withdraw from the course pending an appeal, and will be reported to the Office of Student Conduct.
Cheating includes, but is not limited to, plagiarism and unauthorized collaboration as defined in the Standards of Conduct for Students, WAC 504-26-010(3). You need to read and understand all of the definitions of cheating: http://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=504-26-010. If you have any questions about what is and is not allowed in this course, you should ask course instructors before proceeding.
If you wish to appeal a faculty member's decision relating to academic integrity, please use the form available at conduct.wsu.edu.
WSU Statement on Students with Disabilities: Reasonable accommodations are available for students with documented disabilities or chronic medical conditions. If you have a disability and need accommodations to fully participate in this class, please visit the Access Center website to follow published procedures to request accommodations: http://www.accesscenter.wsu.edu. Students may also either call or visit the Access Center in person to schedule an appointment with an Access Advisor. Location: Washington Building 217; Phone: 509-335-3417. All disability related accommodations MUST be approved through the Access Center. Students with approved accommodations are strongly encouraged to visit with instructors early in the semester during office hours to discuss logistics.
WSU Midterm Policy. Based on ASWSU student requests and action by the Faculty Senate, WSU has instituted Academic Rule 88, which stipulates that all students will receive midterm grades. Midterm grades will be reported as they are calculated in Blackboard.
However, at midterm only 35% of the total graded assignments will have been turned in. Midterm grades are not binding, and because the bulk of the graded work in this course occurs after the midterm point, it can only accurately reflect student performance up to that point.
WSU Statement on Safety and Emergency Notification: Classroom and campus safety are of paramount importance at Washington State University, and are the shared responsibility of the entire campus population. WSU urges students to follow the “Alert, Assess, Act,” protocol for all types of emergencies and the “Run, Hide, Fight”response for an active shooter incident. Remain ALERT (through direct observation or emergency notification), ASSESS your specific situation, and ACT in the most appropriate way to assure your own safety (and the safety of others if you are able).
Please sign up for emergency alerts on your account at MyWSU. For more information on this subject, campus safety, and related topics, please view the FBI’s Run, Hide, Fight video and visit the WSU safety portal.
WSU Policy on Excused Absences. Section 73 of WSU's regulations does not permit instructors to request official documentation to allow excused absences except for military personnel and those traveling on WSU business; hence no other excused absences are permitted by WSU policy. The attendance policy for this course has been relaxed from previous versions of the course to include an additional absence to make up for this decreased flexibility in policy.
WSU OEO Policy. Discrimination, including discriminatory harassment, sexual harassment, and sexual misconduct (including stalking, intimate partner violence, and sexual violence) is prohibited at WSU (See WSU Policy Prohibiting Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, and Sexual Misconduct (Executive Policy 15) and WSU Standards of Conduct for Students).
If you feel you have experienced or have witnessed discriminatory conduct, you can contact the WSU Office for Equal Opportunity (OEO) and/or the WSU Title IX Coordinator to discuss resources and reporting options. (Visit oeo.wsu.edu for more information, including a list of confidential and other resources)
WSU employees, with limited exceptions (e.g. confidential resources such as health care providers and mental health care providers – see oeo.wsu.edu/reporting-requirements for more info), who have information regarding sexual harassment or sexual misconduct are required to report the information to OEO or a designated Title IX Coordinator or Liaison.
At the end of this course, students should be able to | Course Topics and Dates Addressing this Outcome | Evaluation of Outcome |
Understand how research is situated in a scholarly discourse embedded in the literature | Weekly "article expert" presentations Weekly class discussion Discussing journal submissions Student responses to final paper |
Formal assessment of discussion, participation, and responses Preparation of article for paper presentation or article submission (informal) |
Select appropriate methods to investigate research questions, including databases and bibliographies | Research tools discussion, Proposal workshop Proposals |
Feedback on proposals |
Develop graduate-level writing and oral presentation skills through course assignments | 30-minute oral presentation Formal article-length paper In-class conference presentation |
Formal evaluation of 30-minute presentation Formal evaluation of paper |
Synthesize research systematically | Research tools discussion, "Article expert" presentations |
Formal assessment of discussion, participation, and responses |
Understand the concepts behind basic tools used in creating digital humanities projects and editions | "Digital Days" | Formal assessment of discussion, participation, and responses |
Understand the theoretical issues and controversies current in digital humanities scholarship on editions | "Digital Days" and theoretical readings | Formal assessment of discussion, participation, and responses |
Grade Distributions
Approximate
weights for grades:
Paper 1, 20%
Presentations, 20%
Paper or Project 2, 45%
Attendance and Participation (including proposals and short written responses
to papers), 15%
Grading Policies and Criteria
I will use abbreviations as references to grammatical principles on your corrected papers. The abbreviations and accompanying explanations are available on the "Key to Comments" document here: http://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/keyto.htm.
Grading Criteria. List available below and at http://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/grading.html. See the following resources for more specific information:
I will use abbreviations as references to grammatical principles on your corrected papers. The abbreviations and accompanying explanations are available on the "Key to Comments" document here: http://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/keyto.htm.
The total number of points varies by assignment. The chart below shows the approximate letter grade for points earned in each assignment.
WSU final grade submission permits only solid, plus, and minus grades (e.g., C, C+, or C-) to be entered into zzusis.
WSU final grade submission has no "A+" grade, so the highest paper grade will be "A" (95) in compliance with WSU standards. There is no "D-" grade in zzusis, so a final average of 60-62 = D for the same reason.
Total Points | 100 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 35 | 50 | 75 | 125 | 150 | 500 | If your final % is | Your final grade would be . . . |
A | 93 | 14 | 18 | 23 | 28 | 33 | 47 | 70 | 116 | 140 | 465 | 93 or above | A |
A/A- | 92 | 14 | 18 | 23 | 27 | 32 | 46 | 69 | 116 | 139 | 463 | ||
A- | 90 | 13 | 18 | 23 | 27 | 32 | 45 | 67 | 113 | 135 | 450 | 90-92 | A- |
B+ | 88 | 13 | 17 | 22 | 26 | 31 | 44 | 66 | 110 | 132 | 440 | 88-89 | B+ |
B/B+ | 87 | 13 | 16 | 22 | 26 | 30 | 43 | 65 | 110 | 131 | 438 | ||
B | 83 | 12 | 16 | 21 | 25 | 29 | 42 | 62 | 104 | 125 | 415 | 83-87 | B |
B/B- | 82 | 12 | 16 | 20 | 24 | 29 | 41 | 61 | 103 | 124 | 413 | ||
B- | 80 | 12 | 16 | 20 | 24 | 28 | 40 | 60 | 100 | 120 | 400 | 80-82 | B- |
C+ | 78 | 11 | 15 | 19 | 23 | 27 | 29 | 58 | 98 | 117 | 390 | 78-79 | C+ |
C/C+ | 77 | 11 | 15 | 19 | 23 | 27 | 28 | 57 | 97 | 116 | 388 | ||
C | 73 | 11 | 15 | 18 | 22 | 26 | 37 | 55 | 91 | 110 | 365 | 73-77 | C |
C/C- | 72 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 21 | 25 | 36 | 54 | 90 | 109 | 383 | ||
C- | 70 | 10 | 14 | 17 | 21 | 25 | 25 | 52 | 88 | 105 | 350 | 70-72 | C- |
D+ | 68 | 10 | 13 | 17 | 20 | 24 | 34 | 54 | 85 | 102 | 338 | 68-69 | D+ |
D/D+ | 67 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 23 | 33 | 50 | 84 | 101 | 315 | ||
D | 63 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 22 | 32 | 57 | 79 | 95 | 313 | 63-67 | D |
D/D- | 62 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 31 | 46 | 78 | 94 | 312 | ||
D- | 60 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 30 | 45 | 75 | 90 | 300 | 60-62 | D |