So You Think You Can Edit? The Masterchef Edition

Edward Vanhoutte

Director of Research & Publications, Royal Academy of Dutch Language & LiteratureHead, Centre for Scholarly Editing and Document StudiesResearch Associate, UCL Centre for Digital HumanitiesEditor-in-Chief, LLC. The Journal of Digital Scholarship in the Humanities

edward.vanhoutte@kantl.be@evanhoutte

@evanhoutte

#tei2011

'if you are going to mess around with something powerful that you do not fully understand – even something benign – you had better do it with your eyes open.' (Goldfarb, 1990, p. xiii)

'[i]n spite of the fact that in the 1980s editorial circles witnessed a paradigm shift in which the concept of a definitive end product was widely replaced by the concept of process in which multiple texts represent the work, nevertheless, the physical limitations of print editions and the linear reading habits of most readers have continued to force the predominance of clear-reading texts as a primary feature of new scholarly editions.'(Shillingsburg, 1996, p. 77)

'The most important point arising from recent theoretical discussions and computer capabilities may be the inescapable recognition by the general reader that any reading text is merely a representative of a work, not “the work itself”; for there are other representations of it crowding in demanding attention as well.'(Shillingsburg, 1996, p. 77-78).

'present to a broad audience as sound a text (usually modernized and at a minimum price) as is consistent with information that may be procurable through normal scholarly channels and thus without more special research than is economically feasible.’(Bowers, 1969, p. 26)

●the sweet promise of the social edition●the sour reality of sustainability●the bitter destiny of the record of variants●salty need for referentiality

Time to dig up your chocolates

● a proposal to remodel the scholarly edition with the use of social media and extend digital editorial traditions well into the age of Web 2.0.● a proposal for modeling professional reading● a timely alternative to the current types of digital editions● built on the achievements of New Historicism and The sociology of text● a continuously changing knowledge space that generates meaning through collaboration.

'with the tools of social media at its centre, the social edition is process-driven, privileging interpretative changes based on the input of many readers; text is fluid, agency is collective, and many readers/editors, rather than single editor, shape what is important and, thus, broaden the editorial lens as well as the breadth, depth, and scope of any edition produced in this way.' (Siemens et al., forthcoming)

● Caramel Ganache

● Fleur de sel de Camargue

EAT THIS NOW

Sweet

maximal edition● academic product● research data● scholarly accuracy and scrutiny● attitute towards problems and theories of the text ● history of the text

→ Expert Reader

minimal edition● cultural product● reading edition

→ Common Reader

social edition● maximal edition

→ Expert Reader

● Caramel Ganache● Cabernet-sauvignon● Pine nut

EAT THIS NOW

Sour

Apparatus Variorum

● Documentation of variation● Account of emendation and constitution of base text● Control data● Research database

● Bitter Ganache

● Arabica coffee

EAT THIS NOW

Bitter

● Mild Chocolate● Almond praliné● Smoked bacon

EAT THIS NOW

Salty

● Rice vinegar caramel● Soy Sauce● Sesame praliné● Sansho-pepper● Fireworks

EAT THIS NOW

Umami

So You Think You Can Edit? The Masterchef Edition

Edward Vanhoutte

Director of Research & Publications, Royal Academy of Dutch Language & LiteratureHead, Centre for Scholarly Editing and Document StudiesResearch Associate, UCL Centre for Digital HumanitiesEditor-in-Chief, LLC. The Journal of Digital Scholarship in the Humanities

edward.vanhoutte@kantl.be@evanhoutte