Projects
Past and current research hosted in the HIL
THE CANTERBURY TALES PROJECT
The Canterbury Tales Project aims to transcribe, collate, and edit the 88 fifteen-century witnesses of the text. We have pioneered the use of digital tools for the analysis and presentation of textual data through Textual Communities. The project began its activity in 1980s and since then has evolved into an international-level endeavour, involving members from different institutions working on the same topic. With a new round of SSHRC funding, the project currently includes approximately 25,000 digitalized manuscript pages and thousands of line in its repository. Apart from the traditional scholarship, the CTP also developed a mobile-app edition of the General Prologue and a platform for collaborative transcribing the texts. The project contributed and still contributes to the field of Chaucer studies as well as textual criticism and digital humanities.
THE HUMANITIES DATA INQUIRY PROJECT
The Humanities Data Inquiry (HDI) is an SSHRC-funded initiative that helps Humanities and Cultural Heritage (HCH) researchers adapt Open and FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) data practices to their unique needs. The partnership aims to prototype and mobilize a new approach to developing and disseminating primary source HCH research data using FAIR principles. By adapting workflows, infrastructure, and tools originally designed for big data STEM projects, HDI demonstrates how they can be tailored to support the smaller-scale, argument-driven nature of HCH research. Through a working group (DISCOVER), inter-project collaboration (DEMONSTRATE), and knowledge-sharing events (MOBILISE), HDI fosters sustainable data practices, enhances research methods, and ensures long-term accessibility of cultural data.
THE VISIONARY CROSS PROJECT
The Visionary Cross Project is a multidisciplinary initiative that seeks to develop innovative methods for archiving and publishing texts as well as multimedia objects representing early medieval English stone crosses and related texts. It incorporates linked data from online repositories, 3D models, and TEI-encoded texts that are now being integrated into a human-friendly web-based digital edition. This edition will allow both the public and experts to explore the texts and objects interactively. Lessons learned from the developments of the Visionary Cross Project highlight both achievements and ongoing challenges. Looking ahead, the newest iteration aims to incorporate enhanced interactive features, encouraging the use of the 3D model not just as a visual aid but as a valuable piece of data for in-depth scholarly analysis and research.