Prototyping the Renaissance English Knowledgebase (REKn) and Professional Reading Environment (PReE), Past, Present, and Future Concerns: A Digital Humanities Project Narrative

Abstract

Authors: Ray Siemens, Mike Elkink, Alastair McColl, Karin Armstrong, James Dixon, Angelsea Saby, Brett D. Hirsch and Cara Leitch, with Martin Holmes, Eric Haswell, Chris Gaudet, Paul Girn, Michael Joyce, Rachel Gold, and Gerry Watson, and members of the PKP, Iter, TAPoR, and INKE teams. The Renaissance English Knowledgebase (REKn) is an electronic knowledgebase consisting of primary and secondary materials (text, image, and audio) related to the Renaissance period. The limitations of existing tools to accurately search, navigate, and read large collections of data in many formats, coupled with the findings of our research into professional reading, led to the development of a Professional Reading Environment (PReE) to meet these needs. Both were conceived as necessary components of a prototype textual environment for an electronic scholarly edition of the Devonshire Manuscript. This article offers an overview of the development of both REKn and PReE at the Electronic Textual Cultures Laboratory (ETCL) at the University of Victoria, from proof of concept through to their current iteration, concluding with a discussion about their future adaptation, implementation, and integration with other projects and partnerships.