The Assignment

ENG 5083 Bibliography & Research Methods

Spring 2019

Dr. Ashley Bender
abender@twu.edu

Working collaboratively with your peers, you will create a digital collection that draws from your archival research in the TWU Woman’ss. This task is an important one, bearing equal parts recovery, revelation, and preservation. As we excavate texts, photos, and other materials, we have an opportunity to shape the ways that these authors, their lives and work, and the library that houses these materials contribute to (or, in some cases, may nearly have been erased from) “cultural memory.” The story you tell will ultimately be left up to you and will largely depend on the materials you choose to work with.

Scope of the Project

You will create a digital collection that draws from one of the following topics/sets of materials:

  • Women writers
  • Letters (ideally, letters by women)

The completed digital collection will consist of:

  • A landing page that explains the collection, who you are, your methods, etc. It will also include some images and additional links to featured items and resources.
  • Subcollections that have their own landing page, featured items, images, resources, etc.

Deliverables

  • Collaborative introduction to the digital collection (500 words/contributor) – 20% individual component; 7.5% overall
  • Introduction to your subcollection (500–750 words) – 27.5%
  • Metadata for 12 text-based items (goal: at least 10 live items + 2–3 images) – 30%
  • Collaborative bibliography/works cited – 10%
  • At least two featured items per contributor with rationale – 5%
  • Banner images for main and subcollection pages
  • Class blog post (500 words) – replaces project reflection (10% deduction if not completed)

Optional but useful: sections for additional resources or browse subjects on intro pages (see existing digital collections for examples).

Note on grading: Only completed projects will be eligible for grades. Projects missing key components (collaborative intro, subcollection intro, fewer than 8 metadata entries, bibliography, featured items) will not be graded.

Telling a Story

What do you want to share about these materials? What should we learn from them? Why should we pay attention to them? In addition to designing the digital collection and creating an introduction, you will contribute metadata for the items. The collection will eventually go live on the TWU Library website.

Topics to consider for your introductions:

  • Particular themes, issues, or kinds of items
  • Biographical information of the authors
  • Your subjectivity/the class: who is putting this together and why?
  • Your methodological approach for selection
  • Clear rationale for selection
  • Additional resources

Collaboration Tips

Collaborative projects can be challenging. Consider dividing into teams, appointing a general manager/editor, and assigning roles to keep workflow moving. I am here to facilitate, but this is ultimately up to you.

Preparation

Spend time exploring other digital collections at TWU and beyond. Learn the genre. Do the genre.

Your Responsibilities

As archival researchers and scholars, honor the materials, be transparent about your processes, and be mindful of how your subjectivities shape the work. Respect each other’s time and that of the TWU Woman’s Collections staff—make appointments in advance. Ask for help when needed. I and the library staff are here as resources. You are also resources for each other.

Works Cited

McGann, Jerome. A New Republic of Letters: Memory and Scholarship in the Age of Digital Reproduction. Harvard UP, 2014.

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