About this Site
Welcome to the visual and contextual resources site for EN/HU 501, “Building Textual Interpretation." The purpose of this course is to introduce new and returning graduate students to the fundamental processes of critical analysis and scholarly research by examining texts—both the read and the written—as constructed texts.
This course will emphasize two fundamental skill sets necessary for graduate-level work. The first portion of the class will emphasize the key building blocks of critical and textual analysis in an organic, theoretically-informed manner. The second portion of the class will be devoted to bibliographic and research methodologies, drawing where possible on the wealth of resources available in the Washington metropolitan area and engaging several of the new technologies designed to assist researchers. I encourage you to bring your laptop to class!
Finally, this course is seminar-style, which means that it will not be lecture-based; the ability to participate effectively in seminar environments is an overarching skill needed for future graduate work, and we will emphasize this in each class meeting.
This collection of resources is an ongoing work in progress, and I welcome your collaboration. As you browse, consider whether you would like to be a part of growing this collection by uploading select pieces from your own archive. If you want to try your hand at it, let's talk. I've also prepared a brief how-to video tutorial on how to contribute to the site.
About the Platform: This archive uses Omeka, an open source web publishing platform developed by the Center for History and New Media. I installed it on my server space in about 10 minutes, indicating its ease of use. If you would like to learn more about this tool, drop by my office!
Title image via BibliOdyssey: 'Recueil d’Ouvrages curieux de mathématique et de mécanique..' (collection of curious mathematical and mechanical works) by Gaspard Grollier de Servière, 1751 (original version of this image appeared in 1719)
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