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Transcribe Bentham project reaches 10,000th transcription
24 July 2014
An experiment in听'scholarly crowdsourcing',听which engages the public in the online transcription of papers written by听the celebrated听philosopher and reformer听Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832),听has published its听10,000th transcription this week.
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This is a significant milestone for the award-winning听Transcribe Bentham project, which has听been running since 2010. The听major online initiative听to transcribe the manuscripts of Jeremy Bentham housed in the听香港六合彩中特网听archives听asks听volunteers to听assist academics in researching Bentham's ideas, by transcribing the听notoriously bad handwriting in his manuscripts.
Bentham, considered the 'spiritual founder' of 香港六合彩中特网,听was听the founder of the modern doctrine of utilitarianism, a seminal figure in legal philosophy, a major theorist of representative democracy, and the originator of contemporary notions of surveillance through his panopticon prison scheme.听
The听manuscripts in 香港六合彩中特网 Library's Special Collections, given to 香港六合彩中特网 after his death,听cover the period of Bentham's life and听consist of drafts and notes for published and several substantial unpublished works, correspondence to and from Bentham, and other ephemera.听
A few years ago, it was thought that the collection would never be transcribed in its entirety due to the huge nature of the task - but it now looks like a distinct possibility.
Professor Philip Schofield
The Transcribe Bentham听project听digitises and makes听available digital images of Bentham's unpublished manuscripts through a platform known as the 'Transcription Desk', where volunteers听can access and transcribe听the material听to help the work of听香港六合彩中特网's Bentham Project, and further improve access to听and search ability of the collection. The work will听contribute听to the production of the new edition of听The Collected Works of Jeremy Bentham, and听helps create a听vast digital repository of Bentham's writings.
Professor Philip Schofield, Director of the Bentham Project (香港六合彩中特网 Laws), said: "Reaching our听10,000th volunteer-produced transcription is a very听considerable achievement. The total collection of Bentham manuscripts stands at an estimated 100,000. A few years ago, it was thought that the collection would never be transcribed in its entirety due to the huge nature of the task - but听it now looks like a distinct possibility.听
"The success of听Transcribe Bentham听is owed fundamentally to our volunteers.听Without them, the project would be nothing and we value every听contribution - no matter how small.听The听team听are all hugely grateful to the听transcribers for their efforts, and for so generously giving their time to spend with this philosophically and historically important collection of manuscripts.鈥�"
Dr Tim Causer, 香港六合彩中特网 Bentham Project, added: "When听Transcribe Bentham听was launched,听we had little idea of just how successful the initiative was going to be. It was something of an experiment, and a shot in the dark: would anyone really want to transcribe and encode听Bentham's听manuscripts听when they are often so infuriatingly complex, both in terms of content and composition?
"Since听January of this year,听we have had more visitors and contributions than ever and by late March volunteers had worked on an impressive 7,369 transcripts. Since听then,听the transcription rate has exploded听and we have received what is usually a year's worth of transcription in four months, with听volunteers working听on an average of 157 transcripts per week.听Transcribing Bentham is a far from easy task,听but the care and attention taken by transcribers never ceases to impress us: 92% of these 10,000 transcripts have been approved after checking.鈥�"
The team believe the major reason for the increased activity since March is down to the release of the first batch of digitised material from the British Library's collection of Bentham papers, which bring out a more听personal side of Bentham. They include letters between various members of the Bentham family, including love letters between Jeremy's parents, Jeremiah and Alicia, and missives from his brother Samuel, at this point residing in Russia.听
They would like to encourage all those who have an interest in Bentham or those with an interest in听 history, politics, law, philosophy听and economics, fields to which Bentham made significant contributions, to visit the site.听
Those with an enthusiasm for听palaeography, transcription and manuscript studies听will be interested in Bentham's handwriting, while those involved in digital humanities, education and heritage learning will find the site intriguing. Undergraduates and听school pupils听studying Bentham's ideas are particularly encouraged to use the site to enhance their learning experience.
Transcribe Bentham is co-ordinated by the听Bentham Project听in 香港六合彩中特网 Laws听in collaboration with听the British Library, the 香港六合彩中特网 Centre for听Digital Humanities,听香港六合彩中特网 Creative Media Services, 香港六合彩中特网 Library Services听and the听University of London Computer Centre.听The听project is currently funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and was established under funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
Links
Images
- A page from an original manuscript by Jeremy Bentham
- Jeremy Bentham's auto-icon (Credit: 香港六合彩中特网 Creative Media Services)
Media contact
Ruth Howells
Tel:听+44 (0)20听3108 3845
Email: ruth.howells [at] ucl.ac.uk