2nd DiXiT camp in Graz

XML/TEI for Digital Scholarly Editions:
standards, tools and software

14^th to19^th September 2014,
University of Graz, Austria.

Yesterday, Georg and I opened applications for the second DiXiT camp, run by my hosting institution within DiXiT, the Centre for Information Modelling – Austrian Centre for Digital Humanities. The camp will be held at the University of Graz (Karl-Franzens-Universität) from 14^th to19^th September 2014.

Besides staff from the Centre for Information Modelling, experts from the University of Cologne, the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, SynchRO, TEI-C, Text Grid, and the University of Oxford (our own ER3, Magdalena Turska, among them) will provide us fellows and 13 other participants with intensive training on XML TEI P5 for Digital Scholarly Editions and on the standards, tools and software for creating digital editions.

Of course, Elena Pierazzo, Franz Fischer, and Patrick Sahle provided us already a first overview of the daily work of a digital editor, the basics of text modelling and XML/TEI at MMSDA.

Why now another camp on XML/TEI?

In the humanities, particularly in digital scholarly editing, XML is the standard markup language and TEI the corresponding encoding scheme for working with textual material. Thus, it is fundamental for us, as researchers on digital scholarly editions, to have a perfect command of this encoding practice. Furthermore, while at MMSDA we were given a two days introductory overview of the field of digital editing, now we will get more specific. In the morning and afternoon sessions, the teachers will provide us students with theoretical knowledge and practical experience in creating digital editions. Participants are also invited to bring their own material for editing. Basics of representing textual phenomena and features and tools for the description, transcription and representation of primary sources will be covered, from data input to publication.

The lectures will cover the following areas:
·                  Transcription and editorial interventions
·                  Critical apparatus
·                  Genetic editing
·                  Tools for digital editing
·                  Customization of the TEI schema
·                  Workflow to create an online presentation out of TEI
·                  Metadata standards
·                  Edition beyond text: image-text-linkage and music editions

Also, three evenings lectures on use-cases will accompany the morning and afternoon sessions, serving as examples for different editing scopes: the Shelly-Godwin Archive and two editing projects from Graz, Hugo von Montfort – the poetic work and the Moral Weeklies in Romance-speaking Europe. You can find more information and the detailed program in the camp’s flyer and the provisional schedule.

I think the second camp in Graz will be the perfect supplement to the first camp in London/Cambridge and prepare us for creating our own editions.

Landscape in southern Styria

Besides the excellent teaching which we can expect, there are many other reasons for looking forward to a trip to Graz; Styrian wine and food, sunny weather and the beautiful town are just a few reasons why it is well worth it. Since 1999 Graz is in the UNESCO list of World Cultural Heritage Sites, 2003 it was sole Cultural Capital of Europe, and in 2008 it become City of Culinary Delights.

I am already planning our social events, which will range from a traditional Austrian dinner to a city tour and, of course, a pub excursion. For now, I can only reveal that I have kept the promise I made in London: 1 hour 30 minute lunch-breaks!

See you soon – or how Austrians say: Pfiat eich und baba!