SEL8543 : Manuscript, Print, Digital
- Offered for Year: 2021/22
- Module Leader(s): Dr Ruth Connolly
- Demonstrator: Dr Adam Mearns
- Lecturer: Dr Aditi Nafde
- Owning School: English Lit, Language & Linguistics
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
| Semester 2 Credit Value: | 20 |
| ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
Aims
This skills-based module will introduce students to the principles of textual editing for print and digital platforms. It will draw on archival resources and take a practical approach to teaching students with the knowledge and skills they need to work effectively with and to edit these sources. Students will also be trained more broadly in the skills, technologies, theories and methods of scholarly editing. Students will critically assess existing editions, learn how to describe, transcribe and annotate a text of their choice and then use the open international encoding standard TEI P5 XML to encode that text.
Outline Of Syllabus
The core of the module is the transcription and annotation of a manuscript of culinary, medical and cosmetic recipes created in Northumberland in the late seventeenth century. The transcriptions are then encoded and added to the digital edition of this manuscript which has been co-created by successive cohorts of students. The MS is of considerable value for social and medical history, the history of women’s domestic labour and for studies of early modern English in the North-East.
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 77:00 | 77:00 | Preparation, proofing and completion of assignments. |
| Guided Independent Study | Directed research and reading | 1 | 44:00 | 44:00 | Set reading for workshops and small-group sessions. |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 5 | 2:00 | 10:00 | small-group teaching |
| Structured Guided Learning | Structured research and reading activities | 12 | 1:00 | 12:00 | activities and tasks preparatory to small group teaching. |
| Guided Independent Study | Skills practice | 40 | 1:00 | 40:00 | Directed work focussed on developing core module skills. |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Workshops | 5 | 2:00 | 10:00 | archival workshops and coding workshops |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Drop-in/surgery | 4 | 1:00 | 4:00 | To address specific coding or transcription queries. Online. |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Dissertation/project related supervision | 1 | 2:00 | 2:00 | One-to-ones and/or small group supervisions |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Module talk | 1 | 1:00 | 1:00 | introduction to module. |
| Total | 200:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
This is a module with a strong element of skills acquisition so our methods of teaching and learning are orientated to practical application. Small-group teaching focuses on transmitting the skills of transcription, annotation and text-encoding. That teaching is scaffolded by set reading and preparatory tasks for each session. The TEI pathway is supported by workshops and by academic skills practice. Drop-ins are used to address specific issues individual students encounter in their personal tasks and assignments. The amount of time allotted to self-directed practice takes into account that students are acquiring new skills in palaeography and coding.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design/Creative proj | 2 | A | 80 | See assessment rationale for more information |
| Practical/lab report | 2 | M | 20 | 20-minute oral presentation, either in person or via recording. |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
The project is designed to underpin the module’s skills-based agenda. The assessment asks students to create a scholarly edition of a poem or selection of poems (of reasonable complexity and length), a work of fiction (a short story or a portion of a serial), or a piece of literary non-fiction (an essay on a literary topic), derived from a range of suggested sources. The module takes students through the various stages of this work, providing seminars and workshops that raise issues key to scholarly editing, assigning tasks for students at each session, and allowing time in the workshop for students to reflect/ask questions about the process.
Allowing students to design their own project ensures that their work will speak directly to their particular research interest or expertise and that they begin develop their own independent research, which is a priority for postgraduate study.
The oral presentation is to enable them: (1) to present on their work-in-progress; (2) think critically about their edition; (3) receive feedback on it from their peers and tutors preparatory to completing their project; (4) practise presentation skills important at postgraduate level; (5) practise the group-working skills and collaboration crucial to all editorial projects. This assessment can be delivered in person, 'live' via Teams, or via a recording.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- SEL8543's Timetable