Here's a fantastic opportunity to be involved in an ongoing archival project, with an opportunity to learn about researching, transcribing, and, ultimately, becoming part of history yourself...
"Transcribe Bentham is a participatory project based at University College London. Its aim is to engage the public in the online transcription of original and unstudied manuscript papers written by Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832), the great philosopher and reformer. We would like to encourage all those who have an interest in Bentham or those with an interest in history, politics, law, philosophy and economics, fields to which Bentham made significant contributions, to visit the site. Those with an enthusiasm for palaeography, transcription and manuscript studies will be interested in Bentham’s handwriting, while those involved in digital humanities, education and heritage learning will find the site intriguing. Undergraduates and school pupils studying Bentham’s ideas are particularly encouraged to use the site to enhance their learning experience.
Bentham Papers
There are 60,000 papers written by Bentham in UCL’s library but several thousands of these papers, potentially of immense historical and philosophical importance, have yet to be transcribed and studied. By transcribing this material for the first time, you will be making Bentham’s thought accessible to the world at large, as well as helping UCL’s Bentham Project in its task of producing a new authoritative edition of the Collected Works of Jeremy Bentham.
Getting Involved
Access the Transcription Desk. Here you can create a user account which will give you direct access to the images. You can select a manuscript to view and transcribe; save your work, and return to view your own contributions. You can interact with other users by creating a social profile and by sharing ideas in the discussion forum. There is a quickstart guide to using the tool and detailed guidelines on how to transcribe the manuscripts. You can contact us for general advice, help with a specific problem or for further information.
Why get involved?
By participating in Transcribe Bentham you will be helping to preserve national heritage. Your contributions will be stored and will eventually form part of a fully searchable online database. You will be helping to widen access to Bentham manuscripts and to encourage engagement with his works. You will also help to sustain the study of palaeography and manuscripts. Your contributions will form the basis of future scholarship including printed editions of the Collected Works of Jeremy Bentham. You may discover profound ideas which will help shape modern thinking.
Schools
Bentham’s ideas are studied as part of a range of A-levels and Scottish Highers and school teachers, including those who teach junior classes, will find Transcribe Bentham an interesting and useful topic to incorporate into their lessons. Read our guidance on how this transcription initiative can be used by schools and our information on class trips to the Bentham Project.
Transcribe Bentham is hosted by the Bentham Project in the Faculty of Laws, UCL, in collaboration with UCL’s Centre for Digital Humanities, UCL Library Services and the University of London Computer Centre.
Link to the project
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