29th May 2009, University of Berne, Switzerland
University Main Building, Room 215
Hochschulstrasse 4, CH-3012 Berne
Conference Organizers
Prof. Dr. Michael Stolz
(University of Berne, Department of German Studies)
Prof. Dr. Chris Howe, Dr. Heather Windram
(University of Cambridge, Department of Biochemistry)
Subject
Over the last twenty years there has been an increasing interest in the application of computer based techniques to the study of textual material. Many of these applications are derived from scientific research, and their development for use in the humanities mirrors an increasing desire to break down the traditional boundaries between these academic disciplines.
There are three main areas in which computer technology is currently proving of particular value in this respect. Firstly, methods taken directly from the biological and mathematical sciences have enabled the development of both the new field of phylogenetic textual analysis and of mathematically and statistically rigorous systems suitable for the analysis of complex textual data. Secondly, there has been much progress made in the application of information technology to the automatic transcription of handwritten material, of both recent and historical origin. Thirdly, the rapidly increasing power and capacity of personal computers has enabled the development of electronic editions of increasing sophistication and scholarly value, as seen for example in the Canterbury Tales Project and in the recent electronic editions of the Parzival tradition.
In this symposium we will have presentations from scholars involved in each of these areas of study, with the focus primarily on the areas of textual and scribal analysis.
Contact
Prof. Dr. Michael Stolz
University of Berne
Department of German Studies
Länggass-Str. 49
CH-3000 Berne 9
Tel: +41 31 631 83 04
Fax: +41 31 631 37 88
E-mail: michael.stolz@germ.unibe.ch
URL: http://www.parzival.unibe.ch/stolz/