Digital Scholarship
Websites, Digital Editions, and Digital Exhibits
Public-Facing Eighteenth-Century Work
Some of my first experiments with DH and DS involved using websites as a no-barrier tool to bring my work to the public. My first project was a digital exhibit of my Book History practicum project on popular books about women at mid-century. The second was an interview-based blog for the 2017 Canadian Society of Eighteenth-Century Studies conference. This site paired each interview with a relevant holding at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library.
My latest project is a digital edition of the first English translation of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s massively popular novel Julie, ou La Nouvelle Heloise (1761). Translated by William Kenrick, the novel was retitled Eloisa (1761) to appeal to Anglophone readers. My ebook is hosted by Project Gutenberg, a volunteer-run, nonprofit digital library that makes thousands of ebooks freely accessible to readers. I have used and loved Project Gutenberg since my early 20s and I’m so chuffed to contribute to their good work in some small way.
I know a long novel from 1760 will be a tough sell, but hear me out on Eloisa. This book is about the forbidden love between an aristocratic woman and her low-born tutor. Over the course of the story, Rousseau explores themes like premarital sex, interclass love, romantic autonomy, and polyamory. There is so much to dig into with this text! I hope you give it a look.
Letterpress Blog
During my PhD, I was very lucky to work as a Printing Apprentice at the Roberston Davies Library’s letterpress facility. This role taught me principles and best practices of letterpress printing with 19th and 20th century presses. I was hooked! After my official apprenticeship concluded, I continued to volunteer at the facility and have a small at-home setup. Learn more about my letterpress work with my blog “Veronica Learns Letterpress.”
DS Tutorials
When I worked as the Sherman Centre’s Digital Scholarship Coordinator, I moved away from proprietary website builders like Wordpress and embraced open source coding and minimal computing. Part of my work involved learning to use GitHub and developing tutorial sites on software like Twine Games, a hypertext game design platform. Browse the Twine module here. One of my key projects was developing the “Online Learning Catalogue” which corralled all of the Centre’s 100+ digital tutorials into a searchable database.
Teaching and Training
Teaching
In 2023, I designed a new iteration of McMaster University’s introductory Digital Scholarship course. The class introduced students to DS through two key questions. First, how does technology change the way we see classic works of literature? Second, how does scholarly analysis change the way we see technology? We considered both queries through close analysis of Frankenstein (1818) by Mary Shelley. Students learned to use the text analysis platform Voyant and Google Maps’ digital mapping tool; their two major projects involved creating a hypertext game and a podcast episode.
Training
I’ve learned about the Text Encoding Inititative, artificial intelligence, and Indigenous data sovereignty through workshops and modules like DHS@Guelph, DHSI East, and OCAP. I also provide DS training opportunities to other scholars, specifically working on McMaster’s SSHRC-funded RDM Community Data Toolkits event and Cape Breton University’s SSHRC-funded work on culture bearers, where I provide podcast support.
Podcasting
Podcasting Workshops and Asynchronous Module
I regularly lead workshops on podcasting at post-secondary institutions in Canada. Over several sessions, I co-developed an asynchronous learning module on the subject. This guide walks new podcasters through a six-step process for developing, scripting, recording, editing, and sharing their work. While teaching McMaster’s introductory Digital Humanities class in 2023, this module also supported the class as we co-developed a podcast on cyber cinema.
Yesterday’s News
At my first job outside of the academy, I ran and co-hosted a successful history podcast called Yesterday’s News. With no marketing budget, we amassed 2000+ listeners per episode in under a month. Listen to the podcast.
Image Credit: “Concert of Cats” and “Midnight Revels.” Courtesy of the Lewis Walpole Library Digital Assets Collection.