College of Arts & Sciences
Editorial Studies
Co-Directors Archie Burnett, Christopher Ricks
Assistant Director and Director of Publications Frances Whistler
Advisory Committee Backman (History); Bone (LAW); Coelho (Music/CFA); Costello (English); Floyd (Philosophy); Haase (Classical Studies); Jackson (Romance Studies); Levine (English); Noel (Gotlieb Archive); Patterson (English); Prince (English); Redford (Art History/English); Ribner (Art History); Robert (STH); Schmidt (History/Political Science)
The Editorial Institute was formed with the conviction that the textually sound, contextually annotated edition is central to the intellectual life of many disciplines. Its primary aims are the promotion of critical awareness of editorial issues and practices, and the provision of training in editorial methods.
The Institute offers advanced degrees (MA and PhD) to students who successfully prepare either editions of important writings, with textual apparatus and annotation, or monographs concerned with editing or textual bibliography. Guidance to students is provided through courses that cover such topics as current technologies for storing, disseminating, or editing information; legal considerations concerning copyright and intellectual property; historical changes in the concept of authorship; the practice of annotation; and recent theorizing about texts. Several courses feature a variety of visiting speakers and field trips. A number of the Editorial Institute’s courses are open to undergraduate students, who are encouraged to become familiar with the principles and practices of editing.
For further information about the Editorial Institute, please call 617-353-6631, or send an e-mail to editinst@bu.edu.
Courses
CAS EI 501 The Theory and Practice of Literary Editing
Prereq: junior standing or consent of instructor. An introduction to the theory, practice, and principles of editorial decisions, such as questions of modernization, revision, and annotation. Featuring a dozen visiting speakers and attending to notable editorial achievements. Karp, Ricks. 4 cr, 1st sem.
CAS EI 503 Textual Scholarship
Prereq: junior standing or consent of instructor. Fundamentals of textual scholarship: bibliography, paleography, typography, textual criticism, and annotation. Whistler. 4 cr, 1st sem.
CAS EI 506 Topics in Textual Scholarship and the History of Western Society
Prereq: junior standing or consent of instructor. Topic for Spring 2010: The History of the Book. Karp. 4 cr, 2nd sem.
CAS EI 507 Editing and Publishing
Prereq: junior standing or consent of instructor. An introduction to editing in a publishing context, looking at author-relations; kinds of books; internal construction; and methods, costs, and impact of the book’s physical realization. Whistler. 4 cr, 2nd sem.
CAS EI 508 Editing Across the Disciplines
Prereq: junior standing or consent of instructor. An introduction to editorial work in several disciplines, highlighting the practices, problems, and solutions encountered in each and identifying common principles where found. Editorial case histories in English literature, the Bible, classical texts, philosophical works, and music are considered. Whistler. 4 cr, 2nd sem.
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16 October 2009
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