February 2012 – Cornell Editing

Panel proposal for the 2012 Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference

The proposed panel papers:

“Why Faulkner and the Digital Humanities Need Each Other: A Short Introduction,” Elizabeth Cornell
“Hypertext, the World Wide Web, and the Fiction of William Faulkner: A Backwards-Forward Look at America’s Greatest Postmodern Modernist,” John Padgett
“Digitizing Yoknapatawpha: Progress Report on a Work in Progress,” Stephen Railton
“Journey to the Center of Yoknapatawpha: An Experience of Digitizing Faulkner’s Fiction,” Taylor Hagood

Recently the digital humanities has been called “the next big thing,” as though it is a passing academic fad. In fact, it is a big thing that is here to stay and already has brought much richness to Faulkner studies, and it is poised to bring even more. Several notable projects currently represent Faulkner online, including John Padgett’s William Faulkner on the Web and Stephen Railton’s projects, Faulkner at Virginia, Absalom, Absalom! Electronic Text Center, and the newly launched Digital Yoknapatawpha. But compared to other major American authors, Continue reading “Virtualizing Native Soil: Faulkner and the Digital Humanities in the Twenty-First Century”

William Faulkner at Rowan Oak, Oxford, MS

This year’s 39th annual Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference marks the fiftieth year since William Faulkner’s somewhat sudden death in July 1962. This year the Conference organizers called for full panel proposals. Given that the conference theme is “Fifty Years after Faulkner” and will reflect upon, re-exaxmine, and reappraise his work within the past fifty years, a panel on Faulkner and the digital humanities seemed like the obvious, if not responsible thing to do.

I waited for a CFP to come up. None did. Never one to pass up an opportunity to fill a gap when I’m qualified, I came up with my own panel CFP.

Then I waited for wonderful abstracts to flood my mailbox. Continue reading “Why William Faulkner Needs the Digital Humanities”