1. Digital Humanities and the Concept of the Required Text
John Casey, PhD
University of Illinois at Chicago

2. Required Texts Most course syllabi include a list of required texts
The smallest number I require is ONE and the largest is EIGHT
Required texts in my literature classes are almost exclusively print texts with electronic texts serving as a supplement
Required texts in my writing classes are a mix of print and electronic texts
My First Year Writing Class (ENGL 161) has only one required PRINT text, From Inquiry to Academic Writing. All other required texts are provided in PDF via Blackboard or are available on the open web (e.g. OWL). My Introduction to American Literature class has eight print texts, mostly novels. Electronic texts are supplemental, either PDF versions of academic articles on the books we are reading and discussing or web links to resources on the author, text, or time period examined (e.g. Willa Cather Archive). What counts as an electronic text is itself a matter of debate and worth discussion at the end of this session (digitized vs. digital born, open web vs. CMS).

3. Authoritative Texts
These are texts that are recognized for the status of their content and/or the quality of the edition
In literary studies, the authoritative text has roots in Biblical (hermeneutics) and Classical Scholarship (philology)
Textual criticism is the term used to describe the activity of creating and analyzing authoritative texts
See the scholarship of Jerome McGann and Matthew G. Kirschenbaum for a theoretical discussion of authoritative texts. The MLA offers a handbook describing the process of creating an authoritative text: An Introduction to Bibliographical and Textual Studies and Electronic Textual Editing. Information for these texts and authors appears in the last slide (Further Reading).

4. Authoritative Texts (cont.)
“Norton Critical Editions” are one of the more visible examples of authoritative texts
Prized for both the editorial “brand” as well as the textual apparatus (notes and supplemental essays)
Part of a network of texts that scholars take for granted when creating a course

5. Digital Authoritative Text
Many of the texts I teach in the literature classroom are available in multiple editions and/or are in the “public domain”
My preference is still the print edition but I have begun to experiment with digital editions that follow the same logic as the print authoritative text
Example: Walt Whitman Archive
For those not familiar with this copyright law term, public domain refers to published works whose copyright has expired and may be freely used by anyone for whatever purpose they desire. Copyright generally covers life of the author plus seventy years. See

6. Problems and Possibilities
My move towards digital texts arose out of two necessities
The first was cost
The second de facto student use of e-texts rather than print ones (Google search reflex)
Seemed like an opportunity for me to teach my students (particularly English majors) about authoritative editions
Many of the literature texts I teach are available on the open web through multiple websites. Those still under copyright can still be read in excerpts thanks to Google Books and Amazon’s “Look Inside” function.

7. Problems and Possibilities (cont.)
The main problems I face using digital texts are access issues and the potential for distraction
My classrooms lack technology needed to engage in “close reading” of e-texts
Students are easily distracted when reading a text on the web (not on an e-reader)
There are limits to “close reading” techniques with e-texts (need for a new reading method)
Most of the classrooms at UIC are “plug and play” spaces. A flat screen TV, DVD player, and two cables (VGA and HDMI) are provided. Faculty must bring their own computer and project content on the TV screen. Students then must either struggle to view the screen from their seats or read the same text on their laptop, tablet, or phone. Most students choose their smartphone. This new method of “delivery” or medium requires a new understanding of how we read. So far, Franco Moretti is the only scholar I have read that addresses that problem (Distant Reading, 2013).

8. Questions for Consideration
How many “required” texts do you tend to have in your courses?
What criteria do you use to choose these texts?
Do you require specific editions? Why?
Do you use electronic texts in your literature class? If so, do you consider the issue of the “authoritative” text? Why or why not?
Additional questions: Do you handle the issue of required texts differently in courses you might teach that are not traditional literature surveys or seminars? What types of texts do you consider “electronic?” How do you use these texts? Are they primary or do they serve as supplements?

9. Further Reading
Abbott, Craig S. and Williams, William Proctor. An Introduction to Bibliographic and Textual Studies. 4th Ed. New York: MLA Press, 2009.
Burnard, Lou; O’Keefe O’Brien, Katherine; Unsworth, John (eds.). Electronic Textual Editing. New York: MLA Press, 2006.
Kirschenbaum, Matthew G. Mechanisms: New Media and the Forensic Imagination. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2008.
McGann, Jerome. A New Republic of Letters: Memory and Scholarship in the Age of Digital Reproduction. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2014.