I've been reading the discussion on commentary with interest. I've
recently taken a couple of courses in accessing materials on-line,
unnecessarily, as it turned out -- I apparently know how to do it at
near-expert level.. As a result of thinking about this, and wondering
what it would be like to teach students with these skills (I'm almost
seven years retired) I have come to the conclusion that there is a
difference between *using* electronic materials and *reading* electronic
materials. The former is increasing at exponential speed, but I suspect
the latter, though it will remain prevalent, is going to stall. The
distinction between text and commentary in the pre-electronic era was
evident, but near-seamless, witness the grumbling when end-notes
succeeded footnotes. But it seems the two have now, effectively,
separated. Students do "read" poetry in the literal sense on the web,
but I doubt if they do so in the same way they read, for example, the
countless paper-back novels they read and toss away, or the thick
text-books they decorate with highlighter, or eventually, the books they
actually own in later life. (Some will argue they will never buy such
books, but don't bet on it, Amazon certainly hasn't.) But they -- and
we -- are great *uders* of the web, and are likely to become more so.
What's going to change is the nature of the reference section of the
library. I expect there is a "reading experience" research task here for
the book history people. I did a long article in the recent festschrift
for Dominic Baker-Smith on the way the second earl of Leicester (Robert
Sidney's son) read for, and used, his common-place book; now THERE was a
near-seamless experience! Germaine.
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Germaine Warkentin // English (Emeritus)
VC 205, Victoria College (University of Toronto),
73 Queen's Park Crescent East, Toronto, Ont. M5S 1K7, CANADA
[log in to unmask] (fax number on request)
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