A Searchable Database of Images by William Hogarth implemented by Tonya Howe Begun in 2005, this web project is intended to fill a crucial accessibility gap in eighteenth-century cultural studies. As I was conducting research for my dissertation, I found myself interested in popular images exploring the logic of farce; given all the available materials at my disposal, how could I most effectively and completely excavate and theorize the semiotics of early eighteenth century farce? I started with the Catalogue of Personal and Political Satire from the British Museum's Department of Prints and Drawings. The prints themselves have long been microfilmed, along with the catalogues, but no simple method existed for siftng through them. I saw a long road before me, reading through the crumbling, high-acid catalogue pages and noting every image containing visual elements of farce: fairgrounds, monkeys, freakshows, contortionists, popular theatrical entertainments, and so on. While I ultimately gathered an overwhelming amount of information, that mental database was far from complete. Wouldn't it be much simpler to create a searchable digital association between image, complete description, and publication information? With this accessibility gap in mind, I began the database as a side-project. My goal is to incorporate this kind of creative and critical data entry with the classroom experience by inviting advanced students to participate in the construction of the database. By actively participating in the creation and dissemination of knowledge, students will become more aware of their potential not only as students, but also as members of a public intellectual community that exceeds the boundaries of the classroom. While the project was first fancifully imagined as all-inclusive, it has since become more focused on Hogarth's work because his work is both widely commented on and very legible to scholars and students of all levels. His work is some of the most central to eighteenth-century cultural studies. Please feel free to take a look at the project--but do be aware it's in its infancy and very much under construction. |