NITLE Digital Scholarship Seminar:Digital Scholarship in the Online Archive

Lauren CoatsAssistant Professor of English

Louisiana State University

Students as Researchers: Literary History Online and Off

American Periodical SeriesAmerica’s Historical NewspapersMaking of AmericaAmerica’s Historical Imprints

Databases Used

History of Publishing In what form was the work first published? What other works did the publisher produce? What can you learn about the work from how and

where it was first published? History of the publication or publisher

Discursive WebDo the themes or motifs in the work appear in other

contemporary writings? What else was the author publishing? For works published in periodicals: what appeared

along with the work?

Contextualization: Key Questions

Your response this week is an exercise in primary research. Your task: to find an article from the American Periodical Series database (available via LSU Libraries).

You should pick an article or essay, not an advertisement, published between 1776 and 1850 that relates to Susanna Rowson's Charlotte Temple. You might search for a related themes (sentimental novel, novel reading, female education, etc.), for works by or about Rowson, or for essays on or about Charlotte Temple. In other words, play around in the database and find an essay or article that interests you that relates to the novel we're reading.

The response you turn in should consist of:1. A bibliographic citation for the essay or article your find. Use MLA style.2. A 1-2 page explanation of why you chose the piece. What is the connection to Charlotte Temple? What interests you about the essay?3. The piece you found in its entirety. You may either attach the essay in a separate document onto the moodle forum OR you may cut-and-paste it into your own word document).

Contextualization: Sample Assignment 1

Melville’s Benito Cereno was first published in the October, November, and December 1855 issues of Putnam’s Monthly. Your assignment is to find out what else was published in those issues.

1. Find the journal online. 2. Select one of the three issues. 3. Write a 1-2 page overview of that issue’s

contents. What genres (fiction, poetry, essays, etc.) are represented? Is there a topic or theme that comes up more than once?

Contextualization: Sample Assignment 2

Make the familiar unfamiliarGet a richer sense of a cultural, historical

moment

Student as researcher

Outcomes

Does how you access a work affect how you read it?

What kinds of information is available from an online resource versus a hard copy?

Does medium matter?

Comparative Archives: Key Questions

Attention to mediumOngoing issues of access and publication

Student as researcher: methods matter

Outcomes