DIGITAL TOOLS AND RESOURCES FOR TEXTUAL DATA

In its broader meaning, 'digital philology' comprises the ecdotic, as well as the hermeneutic process carried out through the digital medium. More specifically, it concerns the relationship between ICT systems and the critical analysis of documents/texts in the digital format. Therefore, the module fits into that part of the programme in "Digital and Public Humanities" specifically concerned with digital text processing. Moreover, through the examination of linguistic corpora and the tools for their creation, students will gain knowledge about the methods and techniques for the creation of linguistic resources. Digital text processing in a broader sense contributes to add further value to linguistic and literary heritage. The course will be entirely taught in English.

The major objectives of the course are to provide both a theoretical and a practical introduction to the wide realm of "digital scholarly editing" and “corpus linguistics” by focussing in particular - though not solely - on:
(1) XML-TEI markup language;
(2) visualisation softwares (es. EVT);
(3) Linguistic corpora and the tools for their creation (es. EXMARaLDA);

No specific prerequisites. The necessary basic notions will be provided at the beginning of the course through dedicated materials, which will take into account the students' background.

The module will provide a critical review of the most important and current scholarly issues related to digital text processing, including the notions of 'scholarly edition' and 'digital scholarly edition.' Language corpora querying methods and different annotation standards will also be examined.
It will also examine the most popular tools in the scholarly community regarding:
- Text encoding procedures and how to visualize them;
- The different annotation systems of linguistic corpora and how to visualize them;
Practical exercises based on authentic materials will be carried out in class.

A) Compulsory reading:
Pierazzo, Elena 2015. Digital Scholarly Editing: Theories, Models and Methods. Farnham: Ashgate [capp. 2, 3, 5 and 6]
B) Text Encoding Initiative Guidelines:
TEI P5: Guidelines for Electronic Text Encoding and Interchange, http://www.tei-c.org/release/doc/tei-p5-doc/en/html/index.html
Software Oxygen (to download on your laptop)
C) Selected readings from Driscoll, Matthew James and Elena Pierazzo. 2016. Digital Scholarly Editing, Theories and Practices. Digital Humanities Series, Vol. 4, doi, https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0095
D) EXMARaLDA Partitur Editor Manual: https://www.exmaralda.org/pdf/Partitur-Editor_Manual.pdf
Students who are not able to attend classes are kindly asked to contact the lecturer in order to receive further bibliographic indications about supplementary materials.

The written exam consists of four (4) open questions, and lasts 90 minutes. Open questions allow to test critical thought, as well as the capacity of mastering the subject through specific skills (e.g. text encoding, use of one or more tools illustrated in the module).
More specifically:
- Knowledge and understanding: checked through content questions;
- Applying knowledge and understanding: checked through practical exercises, such as text encoding exercises;
- Making judgements: checked through methodological questions;
- Communication skills: checked through open questions (whether students communicate their conclusions clearly and unambiguously, as well as the knowledge and rationale underpinning these);
- Learning skills: evaluation of the students' autonomy of judgement.

Lectures, lecturer-led discussions and practical exercises.

English

written

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Human capital, health, education" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development