So You Think You Can Edit? The Masterchef Edition
Edward Vanhoutte
Director of Research & Publications, Royal Academy of Dutch Language & Literature
Head, Centre for Scholarly Editing and Document Studies
Research Associate, UCL Centre for Digital Humanities
Editor-in-Chief, LLC. The Journal of Digital Scholarship in the Humanities
edward.vanhoutte@kantl.be
@evanhoutte

@evanhoutte
#tei2011

'if you are going to mess around with
something powerful that you do not fully
understand – even something benign –
you had better do it with your eyes open.'
(Goldfarb, 1990, p. xiii)

'[i]n spite of the fact that in the 1980s editorial circles
witnessed a paradigm shift in which the concept of a
definitive end product was widely replaced by the
concept of process in which multiple texts represent the
work, nevertheless, the physical limitations of print
editions and the linear reading habits of most readers
have continued to force the predominance of clear-
reading texts as a primary feature of new scholarly
editions.'
(Shillingsburg, 1996, p. 77)

'The most important point arising from recent
theoretical discussions and computer capabilities
may be the inescapable recognition by the general
reader that any reading text is merely a
representative of a work, not “the work itself”; for
there are other representations of it crowding in
demanding attention as well.'
(Shillingsburg, 1996, p. 77-78).

'present to a broad audience as sound a text
(usually modernized and at a minimum price) as is
consistent with information that may be procurable
through normal scholarly channels and thus
without more special research than is economically
feasible.’
(Bowers, 1969, p. 26)

●the sweet promise of the social edition
●the sour reality of sustainability
●the bitter destiny of the record of variants
●salty need for referentiality
Time to dig up your chocolates

● a proposal to remodel the scholarly edition with the
use of social media and extend digital editorial
traditions well into the age of Web 2.0.
● a proposal for modeling professional reading
● a timely alternative to the current types of digital
editions
● built on the achievements of New Historicism and The
sociology of text
● a continuously changing knowledge space that
generates meaning through collaboration.

'with the tools of social media at its centre, the social
edition is process-driven, privileging interpretative
changes based on the input of many readers; text is
fluid, agency is collective, and many readers/editors,
rather than single editor, shape what is important and,
thus, broaden the editorial lens as well as the breadth,
depth, and scope of any edition produced in this way.'
(Siemens et al., forthcoming)

Sweet
● Caramel Ganache
● Fleur de sel de Camargue
EAT THIS NOW

maximal edition
● academic product
● research data
● scholarly accuracy and scrutiny
● attitute towards problems and theories of the text
● history of the text
→ Expert Reader

minimal edition
● cultural product
● reading edition
→ Common Reader

social edition
● maximal edition
→ Expert Reader

Sour
● Caramel Ganache
● Cabernet-sauvignon
● Pine nut
EAT THIS NOW

Apparatus Variorum
● Documentation of variation
● Account of emendation and constitution of base text
● Control data
● Research database

Bitter
● Bitter Ganache
● Arabica coffee
EAT THIS NOW

Salty
● Mild Chocolate
● Almond praliné
● Smoked bacon
EAT THIS NOW

Umami
● Rice vinegar caramel
● Soy Sauce
● Sesame praliné
● Sansho-pepper
● Fireworks
EAT THIS NOW

So You Think You Can Edit? The Masterchef Edition
Edward Vanhoutte
Director of Research & Publications, Royal Academy of Dutch Language & Literature
Head, Centre for Scholarly Editing and Document Studies
Research Associate, UCL Centre for Digital Humanities
Editor-in-Chief, LLC. The Journal of Digital Scholarship in the Humanities
edward.vanhoutte@kantl.be
@evanhoutte