Digital Scholarship in the Humanities

Acknowledgements

A few months ago, I had an epiphany: if I lived like a bachelor of arts, secluding myself in daydreams, I probably never would have completed this dissertation.  Although writing can sometimes require solitude, I depended upon a community of friends, colleagues, and family to help me make my way through graduate school.  At the risk of sounding like a self-indulgent beneficiary of an Academy Award, I’d like thank everyone who supported me along the way.

I was lucky enough to have superb English teachers in high school and college who inspired me with their passion for literature.  I’m especially grateful to Candida Williamson, Kit Wallingford, Dennis Huston, and Marsha Recknagel.  At Virginia, Steve Railton has provided good counsel and support throughout my graduate career, enriching my knowledge of American literature and serving as a great role model.  Likewise, Jessica Feldman has been a terrific advisor, helping me to see ideas buried in my work and inspiring me with her intellectual enthusiasms and sense of humor.  In working on a project for David Vander Meulen’s textual editing class, I came across a collection of fan letters to Donald Grant Mitchell that got me excited about my dissertation; I thank him for his kindness and support.  Thanks also Marion Rust and Joseph Kett for serving as readers of my dissertation and for providing helpful feedback about  how it can be improved.  I’m also grateful to staff members at Alderman Library’s Special Collections and Yale’s Beinecke Library for their assistance in locating appropriate bachelor texts.

My colleagues at Rice have cheered me on in my Ph.D. work.  I am especially grateful to Geneva Henry, who urged me to complete my dissertation and allowed me to set up a flexible work schedule; Greg Hillis, my fellow Virginia expatriate ABD (now PhD); my Perl buddy Chuck Bearden; Chuck Henry; Sara Lowman; Denise Arial; Megan Wilde; Mia McKeehan; and Ashley Fell.  Thanks also to Seamus Ross and Helen Tibbo for their support.

When I started working at Virginia’s Electronic Text Center, I had no idea how much fun it would be, or how my work there would open up new interests and alter the direction of my career.  Many thanks to David Seaman, Carolyn Fay, Chris Ruotolo, Steve Ramsay, Matthew Gibson, Johnnie Wilcox, Karen Wikander, Craig Simmons, Carol Osborne, Tom Palombi, Jennifer McCarthy, Catherine Tousignant, Bryson Clevinger, and the rest of the Etext gang.

This dissertation would be much weaker were it not for the incisive comments of my dissertation group: Michelle Allen, Amanda French, June Griffith, Elizabeth Outka, and Virginia Zimmerman.  Not only did they help me focus my ideas and straighten out tangled sentences, but they have been true friends, always willing to give support and good advice, share a spinach-and-garlic pizza, stories, and a few beers, and go on backyard sledding expeditions.  I have also been sustained by the friendship of Janice Miller, John Picker, Lauren Murray, Cate Nielan, Jessica Feinberg, and Karen Murray.

I grew up in a house full of books and my parents are both teachers, so I never had to justify studying humanities.  Thanks to my parents Bob and Linda Spiro, my brother John, and my in-laws Sue and Ray Johnson for their encouragement, and to my grandmother Ruby Spiro for funding my first year of graduate school.  My dad put in many hours editing the manuscript; I am grateful to him for saving me from using awkward phrases like “oriented around,” helping me to focus the dissertation, and drawing smiley faces next to my jokes and puns.  Buster the Wonderdog was a loyal writing companion, taking me out for regular walks and snoozing by my side.

One of the best known pro-marriage clichés is “Behind every successful man is a good woman.”  Well, behind me from the start was my husband Richard Johnson, who was understanding when I secluded myself to read bachelor tales, picked up the slack with household chores, and helped me revise and proofread the manuscript.  He makes me laugh, helps me put things in perspective, and enriches my life, demonstrating that love is the foundation.  I’m glad he’s not a bachelor.