CIRCA:The Bentham Project
From CIRCA
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| - | The [http://http://www.ucl.ac.uk/Bentham-Project Bentham Project] began at the [http://http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ University College of London] in 1958 with the intent of publishing an exhaustive scholarly edition of philosopher [http://https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Bentham Jeremy Bentham’s] writings. Bentham was prolific; | + | The [http://http://www.ucl.ac.uk/Bentham-Project Bentham Project] began at the [http://http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ University College of London] in 1958 with the intent of publishing an exhaustive scholarly edition of philosopher [http://https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Bentham Jeremy Bentham’s] (1748-1832) writings. Bentham was prolific; when the scholarly edition is complete it will total over 70 volumes on the topics of morality, religion, crime and punishment, law, economics, and other related subjects. |
Bentham’s original manuscripts, about 72,500 folios total, are challenging to transcribe. His writing is hurried and sometimes incomprehensible, there are numerous scribbles, revisions, and crossed out words, and the folio paper itself is rather large. Almost 20,000 folios had been transcribed by hand between the year of the project’s inception (1958) and 2010. [[File:Bentham_Transcript.png|200px|thumb|right|Excerpt of Bentham Transcript]] | Bentham’s original manuscripts, about 72,500 folios total, are challenging to transcribe. His writing is hurried and sometimes incomprehensible, there are numerous scribbles, revisions, and crossed out words, and the folio paper itself is rather large. Almost 20,000 folios had been transcribed by hand between the year of the project’s inception (1958) and 2010. [[File:Bentham_Transcript.png|200px|thumb|right|Excerpt of Bentham Transcript]] | ||
| - | + | The challenging nature of the work, and the public's interest in it's completion, led to the creation of interesting and diverse sub-projects that reside within the Bentham project itself. | |
== Transcribe Bentham == | == Transcribe Bentham == | ||
| - | The Transcribe Bentham | + | The [http://www.ucl.ac.uk/Bentham-Project/transcribe_bentham Transcribe Bentham Project], initiated in September 2010, received a one-year grant with the expectation that the laborious work of transcription be completed voluntarily by interested members of the online community (crowdsourcing). The grant itself was used for the creation of high quality digital images of the folios, the staffing of two full-time project coordinators, setting up the web interface, and various other administrative costs. [[File:Transcribe_Bentham_editor.png|200px|thumb|right|Transcribe Bentham transcription editor]] |
The web interface used for Transcribe Bentham is a customised MediaWiki that hosts the scanned manuscripts, the transcription tool (a WYSIWYG type text editor), project documentation, a discussion forum, and a rudimentary social media platform that lets members and project organizers communicate. | The web interface used for Transcribe Bentham is a customised MediaWiki that hosts the scanned manuscripts, the transcription tool (a WYSIWYG type text editor), project documentation, a discussion forum, and a rudimentary social media platform that lets members and project organizers communicate. | ||
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A great deal of attention was payed to the encoding process. Users can select a portion of text that needs encoding (something like an unintelligible word or addition), and press the appropriate button on the toolbar. The text is automatically tagged with TEI compliant XML, preventing the user having to worry if a document ends up being well-formed. Although the practice of encoding is not required by the transcriber, it adds a valuable layer of depth to the final document and allows for searchability. It likely also provides a sense of completion for the user, especially when words are crossed out or unintelligible. | A great deal of attention was payed to the encoding process. Users can select a portion of text that needs encoding (something like an unintelligible word or addition), and press the appropriate button on the toolbar. The text is automatically tagged with TEI compliant XML, preventing the user having to worry if a document ends up being well-formed. Although the practice of encoding is not required by the transcriber, it adds a valuable layer of depth to the final document and allows for searchability. It likely also provides a sense of completion for the user, especially when words are crossed out or unintelligible. | ||
| - | When a transcript is deemed complete by the transcription desk, it is uploaded to the UCL’s digital collection, where it can be viewed, along with the original image of the document, by anyone. The authours propose that this digitization is not only convienent for scholars, but essential for the long-term preservation of the work. The TEI compliant coding and high-quality scanning have transformed the project into | + | When a transcript is deemed complete by the transcription desk, it is uploaded to the UCL’s digital collection, where it can be viewed, along with the original image of the document, by anyone. The authours propose that this digitization is not only convienent for scholars, but essential for the long-term preservation of the work. The TEI compliant coding and high-quality scanning have transformed the project into a digital archive. |
| + | |||
| + | == Publication of Collected Works == | ||
| + | The first edition of the [http://www.ucl.ac.uk/Bentham-Project/publications Publication of the Collected Works of Jeremy Bentham] | ||
| + | |||
| + | == International Society for Utilitarian Studies == | ||
| + | The [http://www.ucl.ac.uk/Bentham-Project/isus International Society for Utilitarian Studies] | ||
| + | |||
| + | == Auto Icon == | ||
| + | The [http://www.ucl.ac.uk/Bentham-Project/who/autoicon Auto Icon] | ||
Revision as of 20:25, 30 November 2012
The Bentham Project began at the University College of London in 1958 with the intent of publishing an exhaustive scholarly edition of philosopher Jeremy Bentham’s (1748-1832) writings. Bentham was prolific; when the scholarly edition is complete it will total over 70 volumes on the topics of morality, religion, crime and punishment, law, economics, and other related subjects.
Bentham’s original manuscripts, about 72,500 folios total, are challenging to transcribe. His writing is hurried and sometimes incomprehensible, there are numerous scribbles, revisions, and crossed out words, and the folio paper itself is rather large. Almost 20,000 folios had been transcribed by hand between the year of the project’s inception (1958) and 2010.
The challenging nature of the work, and the public's interest in it's completion, led to the creation of interesting and diverse sub-projects that reside within the Bentham project itself.
Contents |
Transcribe Bentham
The Transcribe Bentham Project, initiated in September 2010, received a one-year grant with the expectation that the laborious work of transcription be completed voluntarily by interested members of the online community (crowdsourcing). The grant itself was used for the creation of high quality digital images of the folios, the staffing of two full-time project coordinators, setting up the web interface, and various other administrative costs.
The web interface used for Transcribe Bentham is a customised MediaWiki that hosts the scanned manuscripts, the transcription tool (a WYSIWYG type text editor), project documentation, a discussion forum, and a rudimentary social media platform that lets members and project organizers communicate.
The manuscripts were photographed at a high resolution that allowed for maximum magnification. The quality of the scanned images was vital, due to the difficult nature of deciphering the material.
A great deal of attention was payed to the encoding process. Users can select a portion of text that needs encoding (something like an unintelligible word or addition), and press the appropriate button on the toolbar. The text is automatically tagged with TEI compliant XML, preventing the user having to worry if a document ends up being well-formed. Although the practice of encoding is not required by the transcriber, it adds a valuable layer of depth to the final document and allows for searchability. It likely also provides a sense of completion for the user, especially when words are crossed out or unintelligible.
When a transcript is deemed complete by the transcription desk, it is uploaded to the UCL’s digital collection, where it can be viewed, along with the original image of the document, by anyone. The authours propose that this digitization is not only convienent for scholars, but essential for the long-term preservation of the work. The TEI compliant coding and high-quality scanning have transformed the project into a digital archive.
Publication of Collected Works
The first edition of the Publication of the Collected Works of Jeremy Bentham
International Society for Utilitarian Studies
The International Society for Utilitarian Studies
Auto Icon
The Auto Icon
