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The development of digital technology and its widespread availability on the personal computer are bringing about a fundamental paradigm shift in the ways that literary texts are created, preserved, disseminated, and studied--a revolution that many scholars have argued is as profound as that created by Gutenberg's invention of movable type. At the same time, a major shift in textual theory--away from the notion of a "Definitive Edition" and toward a recognition of the integrity of discrete versions--has highlighted the fundamental limitations of the printed book. The Literary Text in the Digital Age addresses these developments from a wide range of perspectives. The essays discuss topics from the history of electronic editions to problems in encoding to the relationship between contemporary literary theory and the capabilities of digital technology. Other articles discuss the design of hypertext electronic editions now in progress or projected, including editions of the work of Chaucer, Thomas Hardy, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Individually and together these contributions show how such projects will go beyond the "electronic book" and exploit the full potential of the new medium. Finally, the volume also includes an afterword, in which A. Walton Litz reflects on the importance of digital technology from the perspective of one of the senior scholars in modern literary studies. The essays gathered here are both authoritative and timely. This volume will be of interest to any student or scholar of literary texts, as well as those in any field concerned with the advent of digital technology and its transforming effects. Contributors are Phillip E. Doss, Richard J. Finneran, Simon Gatrell, Susan Hockey, Ian Lancashire, John Lavagnino, A. Walton Litz, Jerome J. McGann, William H. O'Donnell, Peter Robinson, Charles L. Ross, Peter Shillingsburg, C. M. Sperberg-McQueen, Emily A. Thrush, and John Unsworth.

In Theater as Data, Miguel Escobar Varela explores the use of computational methods and digital data in theater research. He considers the implications of these new approaches, and explains the roles that statistics and visualizations play. Reflecting on recent debates in the humanities, the author suggests that there are two ways of using data, both of which have a place in theater research. Data-driven methods are closer to the pursuit of verifiable results common in the sciences; and data-assisted methods are closer to the interpretive traditions of the humanities. The book surveys four major areas within theater scholarship: texts (not only playscripts but also theater reviews and program booklets); relationships (both the links between fictional characters and the collaborative networks of artists and producers); motion (the movement of performers and objects on stage); and locations (the coordinates of performance events, venues, and touring circuits). Theater as Data examines important contributions to theater studies from similar computational research, including in classical French drama, collaboration networks in Australian theater, contemporary Portuguese choreography, and global productions of Ibsen. This overview is complemented by short descriptions of the author’s own work in the computational analysis of theater practices in Singapore and Indonesia. The author ends by considering the future of computational theater research, underlining the importance of open data and digital sustainability practices, and encouraging readers to consider the benefits of learning to code. A web companion offers illustrative data, programming tutorials, and videos. 

Toward a Small Data Archaeology presents an interpretive and methodological framework—a “small data” archaeology—elucidated through a case study at Xaltocan, Mexico. Aligned closely with Indigenous feminist principles by engaging directly with descendant communities that resist abstract, large-scale syntheses and instead emphasize deep, localized understanding of ancestral lives intertwined with their landscapes, this framework repositions archaeological inquiry by focusing on individual household contexts. Drawing on diverse lines of evidence from molecular archaeology and geochemistry to Bayesian statistics, Lisa Overholtzer uncovers the detailed social identities, economic practices, and ritual behaviors that defined everyday life in Xaltocan.

Xaltocan served as the Otomí city-state capital before being conquered by the Tepanecs, subsequently incorporated into the Aztec Empire, and finally integrated into the vast Spanish colonial sphere. In reconstructing long-term household histories that bridge the pre-Hispanic and early Colonial periods, this book resists narratives that define Indigenous peoples solely through the lens of conquest and subordination. Instead, it presents richly detailed reconstructions of familial relationships and social networks, achieved through the rigorous analysis of artifacts, ecofacts, human remains, and ancient DNA. This meticulous and community-collaborative approach not only maximizes insights available from a limited archaeological record but also honors the ethical imperative to work with descendant communities.
 
Toward a Small Data Archaeology offers an innovative reexamination of the past by privileging the intricate, household-level narratives of Indigenous communities over the homogenizing tendencies of broad-scale "big data" approaches. By peopling the past, Overholtzer redefines methodological boundaries within archaeology, produces reconstructions and narratives that are more in line with Indigenous philosophies, and offers a compelling vision for a future in which historical narratives are reconstructed through a lens that is both deeply scientific and inherently humane.
 

Hypertext is now commonplace: links and linking structure nearly all of our experiences online. Yet the literary, as opposed to commercial, potential of hypertext has receded. One of the few tools still focused on hypertext as a means for digital storytelling is Twine, a platform for building choice-driven stories without relying heavily on code. In Twining, Anastasia Salter and Stuart Moulthrop lead readers on a journey at once technical, critical, contextual, and personal. The book’s chapters alternate careful, stepwise discussion of adaptable Twine projects, offer commentary on exemplary Twine works, and discuss Twine’s technological and cultural background. Beyond telling the story of Twine and how to make Twine stories, Twining reflects on the ongoing process of making.

"While there have certainly been attempts to study Twine historically and theoretically... no single publication has provided such a detailed account of it. And no publication has even attempted to situate Twine amongst its many different conversations and traditions, something this book does masterfully." —James Brown, Rutgers University, Camden